The Nikolaevsk volleyball team lost 3-2 to Gustavus on Saturday in the Mixed 6 state championship match at Dimond High School in Anchorage.

The scores were 20-25, 25-21, 25-15, 24-26 and 15-12.

“We were the runner-up champions. That championship is eluding me,” said Nikolaevsk coach Bea Klaich, who also coaches the girls basketball team that lost 43-39 to Cook Inlet Academy in the Class 1A final at the 2013 state basketball tournament.

Despite the loss, Klaich is happy with the progress of the program. This is the sixth year for mixed volleyball, which puts three girls and three boys on the court, at Nikolaevsk. Last year, the Warriors were fourth in state.

“This year was the second trip to state,” Klaich said. “The kids were really excited about it and had fun, but couldn’t quite get that championship.”

Klaich also gave a lot of credit to Gustavus.

“They have some big hitters,” she said. “We missed some serves that really hurt a lot. They really pounded the ball at us and the kids played good defense.”

Nikolaevsk’s Felemon Molodih, a junior, was the defensive player of the tournament, while juniors Jonah Fefelov and Serafima Kalugin were all on the all-tournament team.

“I’m proud of the kids,” Klaich said. “They put it all out there. It’s going to be a quick transition to basketball.”

Nikolaevsk had advanced to the final with a 25-16, 25-10 and 25-19 victory over Scammon Bay in the Friday quarterfinal and a 25-20, 20-25, 25-20 and 25-19 victory over Nunamiut in the Friday semifinal.