The Kenai Central volleyball team defeated Nikiski 19-25, 25-21 and 16-14 on Saturday in the championship match of the 17th Annual Shayna Pritchard Memorial Volleyball Tournament.
The Kardinals won the tournament for the fifth straight year. Last season, Kenai won the Class 3A state tournament for the second straight season, while Nikiski finished third.
The rivalry between Kenai head coach Tracie Beck and Nikiski head coach Stacey Segura shows no signs of slowing down this season. The week before, Nikiski defeated Kenai for the North/South Todd Brewer Tournament title in Seward.
“She’s a great coach,” Beck said of Segura. “She maximizes the talent of her group, and I think that is something we both do well.
“It has always been a great rivalry back and forth.”
The tournament is in honor of Pritchard, who was killed in a car accident in Colorado in 2007. Half of the proceeds of the tournament go to the Shayna Pritchard Scholarship Fund.
Beck said it is an honor Nikiski asks the Kards to return year after year, particularly because Kenai assistant Bruce King was coaching the Bulldogs when Pritchard was playing.
Each year, the tournament comes with the message of trying hard and having fun because the future is not a given. The Shayna Marie Pritchard Award goes to the player most exemplifying those qualities. This year, it went to East’s Alyssa Cabesas.
“I think it’s good for our kids to hear that message every year, because we don’t go around talking about that all the time,” Beck said. “We’re neighbors.
“If tragedy strikes like that, it doesn’t matter what color you’re wearing, you would be there to support your community in any way.”
The tournament also is special for Segura, who attended Nikiski.
“I played with her,” Segura said. “I knew her on a friendship level and personal level.”
Both teams return a lot of experience from last season. For Nikiski, Abby White, Alexa Iyatunguk, Avery Ellis, Ashlynne Playle and Kailey Stynsberg all started last season. Mandee Roofe also started, but is currently out with an injury.
Segura said the team also is getting a nice infusion of youth from freshman Blakeley Jorgensen and sophomore Milly Hornung.
The Bulldogs were in control in Game 1 and trailed 15-14 in Game 2 when Kenai sophomore Gracee Every stepped to the service line. Every served out six points to give Kenai control of that game and force Game 3.
In Game 3, Nikiski was leading 9-6 when Every, who finished with four aces, served out four points for a 9-all tie.
“I would definitely give her the MVP on that championship game because she came in, and that kid has a personality that sometimes she’s hard on herself, but she came in and totally rocked it,” Beck said.
Segura said the troubles on Every’s serves were not purely a passing problem, but a mixture of things. The coach said her team responded and still forced championship point at 14-13.
Stella Selanoff responded with a kill for Kenai, then Kate Wisnewski served out the final two points on a Sophie Tapley kill and Nikiski hitting error.
Beck said her team’s passing was off but Wisnewski still managed to get 23 assists, three kills and an ace.
“That’s Kate and her leadership,” Beck said. “She’s strong. Even if the set isn’t there, she tries to make something out of it.”
Also for Kenai, Brynnen Hansen had 43 digs, Avia Miller had six kills, Selanoff had 31 digs and four kills, Tapley had 10 kills and Sarah Baisden had five kills.
Segura said the outlook is still bright for her squad. She said Roofe was third in the state in blocks on all levels on MaxPreps last season.
“She has a huge block that can shut down a lot of hitters,” Segura said. “So we have a lot of growing to do.
“The tougher situations we put ourselves in, the better we play, the tougher team we play, will just make us better.”
She said the team’s seniors — Ellis, Iyatunguk, Playle and Stynsberg — are incredible.
“Avery Ellis is a rock on the court,” Segura said. “She’s filling that captain spot nicely. She’s come out of her shell and has really been a leader.”
Ellis had 20 digs, 11 assists and two aces, while Playle had 16 kills and two aces. Also, Jorgensen had six blocks, Iyatunguk had four kills and two aces, Hornung had nine assists and Stynsberg had 15 digs.
Playle was the MVP of the tourney. Also on the all-tourney team were Tapley, Wisnewski, Stynsberg, Selanoff, Iyatunguk and East’s Lala Logoleo, Sofie Zaccanti, Cabesas and Denise Pinota.
In round-robin play, East defeated Nikiski JV 25-8, 25-4, Kenai defeated South JV 25-18, 25-11, Nikiski JV defeated Grace 25-17, 25-20, Nikiski defeated South JV 25-11, 25-7, East defeated Grace 25-11 and 25-6, and Nikiski and Kenai split with Nikiski winning 28-26 and Kenai winning 25-18.
In the first round of the tournament bracket, South JV defeated Nikiski JV 20-25, 25-13 and 15-9, while Nikiski defeated Grace Christian 29-27 and 25-7.
In the semifinals, Kenai defeated South JV 25-9, 25-23, while Nikiski defeated East 25-21, 25-20.
Grace defeated Nikiski JV 24-26, 25-21, 15-10 for fifth place. East defeated South JV 25-9, 25-12 for third place.
Kenai Central celebrates winning the title Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, at the 17th Annual Shayna Pritchard Memorial Volleyball Tournament at Nikiski Middle-High School in Nikiski, Alaska. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)
Kenai Central’s Ellsi Miller attacks Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, at the 17th Annual Shayna Pritchard Memorial Volleyball Tournament at Nikiski Middle-High School in Nikiski, Alaska. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)
Nikiski’s Abby White digs up a ball Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, at the 17th Annual Shayna Pritchard Memorial Volleyball Tournament at Nikiski Middle-High School in Nikiski, Alaska. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)
