The Soldotna volleyball team defeated Palmer on Friday and Saturday to move to 4-0 in the Northern Lights Conference at 6-0 overall.
Soldotna coach Sheila Kupferschmid said the theme of the matches was Palmer’s tough defense and great ball control making things tough for the Stars.
Friday, Soldotna came from behind for a 25-18, 18-25, 21-25, 30-28 and 15-3 victory.
Kupferschmid said Kalyn McGillivray came in during the third set at setter and was instrumental in leading the Stars back. In the pivotal fifth game, McGillivray scored 13 points in a row on her serve.
Aliann Schmidt and Ituau Tuisaula each had 14 kills and three blocks. Bailey Leach had 10 kills, while Leach and Brittani Blossom each had three aces. Carsen Brown added 35 assists.
Saturday, the Stars won another defensive battle 25-16, 24-26, 36-34 and 25-20. And once again, Kupferschmid said McGillivray came in during the third set and was instrumental in the win.
Tuisaula had 17 points and 14 kills, while Blossom and Holleigh Jaime each had 14 points. Also, Leach had 11 kills, Jaime had seven digs and Brown had 34 assists.
Kenai Central sweeps on road
Kenai Central improved to 4-0 overall and 2-0 in the Southcentral Conference by going on the road and defeating Redington on Friday and Houston on Saturday.
Friday, the Kards cruised past the Huskies 25-16, 25-20 and 25-10.
“The girls just got off the bus and took care of business one point at a time,” Kenai head coach Tracie Beck said.
Bethany Morris had eight kills and five aces, while Jaiden Streiff had 22 digs and five kills, and Lexi Reis had five kills.
Saturday, the Kards prevailed in a tense 23-25, 25-15, 25-21, 18-25 and 15-13 affair at Houston.
“Our passing was on and when our passing is on it lets us get in our offense,” Beck said. “When we can pass, it’s kind of fun. We get to play volleyball and run our offense.”
Kailey Hamilton had 28 assists and three aces for Kenai, while Kaylee Lauritsen had 21 assists and four aces. Also, Morris had 17 kills, Streiff had 16 kills and Reis had 14 kills.
Nikiski splits with Southcentral Conference foes
The Nikiski volleyball team split with Southcentral Conference foes on a road trip, defeating Anchorage Christian Schools on Friday before losing to Grace Christian on Saturday. The squad is now 2-1 in the Southcentral Conference and overall.
Friday, the Bulldogs notched a 25-18, 25-12 and 25-11 victory.
“We played a little flat and made a few silly mistakes here and there,” Nikiski coach Stacey Segura said. “We were able to power through those using some of our experience.”
Kaycee Bostic had seven kills, while Bethany Carstens and Emma Wik each had five kills. Wik had five aces, while Kelsey Clark had four aces. Clark led in digs with 15, while America Jeffreys had 10. Carstens had three blocks, while Bostic added two blocks. Finally, Kaitlyn Johnson had 13 assists, while Emma Wik had 11 assists.
Saturday, Nikiski fell to the Grizzlies 19-25, 25-19, 26-24 and 25-17.
“All weekend, we played flat,” Segura said. “We weren’t playing our best game Thursday and Friday, but we were able to play through it.
“That stuff showed up whenever we were tested today. It caught up with us.”
Last season, the Bulldogs were perfect in the conference regular season only to lose to Grace in the conference championship.
“We’re humbled by the loss and we can come back and work on it,” Segura said. “Last year, we couldn’t do that during the season.”
Carstens had 11 kills, while Bostic had 10 kills. Clark had 20 digs, while Jeffreys and Angela Druesdow each had 10 digs. Carstens had five blocks, while Bostic had one. Wik led the team with 15 assists, while Johnson added seven. Finally, Druesdow and Johnson each had two aces.
Homer splits with Southcentral Conference foes
The Homer volleyball team finished 1-1 on a Southcentral Conference road trip Friday and Saturday.
Friday, Grace notched a 24-26, 23-25, 31-29, 25-20 and 17-15 win over Homer.
The top players for Homer in the game were Brianna Hetrick with six kills, 29 assists, nine digs and five aces; Kelli Bishop with 12 kills and 13 digs; Karmyn Gallios with 14 kills, a block, eight digs and an ace; and Marina Carroll with seven kills, seven blocks, eight digs and six aces.
Saturday, the Mariners bounced back by defeating ACS 20-25, 25-20, 25-15 and 25-18.
Hetrick had 23 assists, two kills, seven digs and two aces; while Gallios had 10 kills, four digs and an ace. Also for Homer, Carroll had seven kills, five digs, a block and three aces; and Tonda Smude had nine kills, four blocks and three aces.
Seward sweeps Southcentral Conference road trip
The Seward volleyball team went 2-0 on a Southcentral Conference road trip, sweeping Houston on Friday and Redington on Saturday.
