The Kenai Central and Nikiski volleyball programs went undefeated in pool play Friday at the Shayna Pritchard Memorial Tournament at Nikiski Middle/High School.
The tournament is held in honor of Pritchard, a 2007 Nikiski graduate who was killed in a car crash in Colorado in June 2007.
Nikiski defeated Monroe Catholic 25-16 and 25-17, then topped Bethel 25-20 and 25-12. Kenai defeated Palmer 25-21 and 25-16, then topped Sitka 25-17 and 25-18.
In other play, Monroe defeated Bethel 25-14 and 25-17, and Palmer and Sitka split, with Sitka winning 25-10 and Palmer winning 25-21.
The pool play is used to seed the Saturday championship bracket.
Play begins Saturday with Sitka taking on Bethel at 9:30 a.m. and Monroe facing Palmer at 10:45 a.m. The losers of those two matches play for fifth place at 2:30 p.m.
The Sitka-Bethel winner plays Nikiski at noon and the Monroe-Palmer winner plays Kenai at 1:15 p.m.
The winners of those matches play in the championship match at 5 p.m. The losers play for third place at 3:45 p.m.
Sitka 3, Homer 2
The Wolves won a nonconference match Thursday in Homer in the regular season opener for the Mariners. The scores were 25-19, 22-25, 22-25, 25-23 and 15-5.
Rebecca Trowbridge had 25 assists to lead the Mariners, while Gracie Miotke had 13 kills and Regan Backer collected 11 digs.
Homer coach Ian Overson said his squad had 12 service aces, but also made 24 service errors.
For Sitka, Jaira Costello had 19 assists and 15 digs, and Ally Maryville had eight kills.
Overson wrote in a text message that his team played well once the Mariners got the first-game jitters out of their systems.
Seward 3, Homer 1
The visiting Seahawks notched a Southcentral Conference victory over the Mariners on Friday. The scores were 25-16, 25-19, 23-25 and 25-11.
Channing Lowney had 13 kills for the Mariners, while Rebecca Trowbridge had 21 assists, Regan Baker had 17 digs and Addi Grimes had 10 digs.
For the Seahawks, Mikinley Williams had 16 kills and 18 digs, and Jordan Hartman had 21 assists.
Soldotna splits in Kodiak
The Soldotna volleyball team won Friday and lost Saturday in Kodiak in opening regular season and Northern Lights Conference play.
Soldotna coach Luke Baumer said injuries made it a tough weekend.
Senior setter Nicole Dickinson was warming up for Friday’s match when she sprained an ankle. Baumer said she could be out for a few weeks.
Then middle blocker Abygale Shaeffer couldn’t play Saturday due to a back injury. Baumer hopes Shaeffer will be back soon.
“It’s a huge loss,” Baumer said. “They’re both key contributors to our offense and to have it happen in the first region match sucks.
“At the same time, we’re grateful it’s still such a long season. They have plenty of time to get recovered.”
The Stars topped the Bears in four games Friday. Baumer gave sophomore setter Sarah Brown credit for stepping in for Dickinson.
“She absolutely killed it,” Baumer said.
Brown had 17 assists, 18 digs and four aces. Also for SoHi, Sadie Lane had 10 kills, Athena Rossiter and Hallie Fischer had six kills, Lane had four aces and Rossiter had three blocks.
Baumer said Kodiak coach Amy Willis made some great adjustments Saturday, leading to a 25-11, 23-25, 25-18 and 25-11 victory for the Bears.
Brown had 16 assists, while Lane had 11 kills and four aces, and Kiara Forkner had 13 digs.
