Crimson Bears spike Malemutes at state tournament
- Klas Stolpe
- 4 hours ago
- 4 min read
JDHS stays alive in volleyball jungle, face Cougars next
By Klas Stolpe
Juneau Independent
The Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé Crimson Bears are staying alive in the Alaska volleyball jungle as they defeated the Lathrop Malemutes 3-1 (25-18, 23-25, 25-22, 25-16) during elimination bracket play Friday in the 2025 ASAA Volleyball State Championships at Anchorage’s Alaska Airlines Center.
“Really proud of them,” JDHS coach Jody Levernier said. “They adjusted to a triple block on our middles.”
The Crimson Bears had their service dialed in against Lathrop with seniors Braith Dihle and Cambry Lockhart, and juniors June Troxel, Liliane Veikoso and Leila Cooper all registering aces and the entire service rotation making the Malemutes work for returns.
"I thought our defense was scrappy and we played consistent," Lockhart said of the match. "We were able to apply pressure on them to force mistakes. Our serving as a team was clean and that was crucial especially for when it came down to a few points. Our bench was also a great help because they were very motivating and encouraging to us to continue pushing. We were able to make leads and just play point by point."
JDHS took command of the first set against Lathrop with a block by senior Gwen Nizich and a run-in serve by Dihle to 5-1 including an ace. The Crimson Bears would keep a scoring advantage of over three points through the set and Nizich ended the game with a kill for 25-18.
“Gwen and O (Lilane Veikoso) found ways to move the set and Gwen got some kills. She also did get some solid blocks.”
In set two Lathrop took advantage of their height and kept pressure on JDHS at the net with seniors Avayah Crumm, Mia Hahn, Shania Lowe and Annebelle Foster having strong attacks.
The Crimson Bears would keep pace with Troxel, Nizich, Dihle and senior Lavinia Ma’ake getting kills through the rallies to hold a 21-16 lead before a misshit gave Lathrop possession and Crumm served to a tie, including her own kill and another by Foster.
A kill by Lowe and a block by Foster put Lathrop up 23-21. JDHS’ Troxel killed for possession only to see Lowe do the same for the Malemutes.
“June worked hard to find holes on the court when they were triple blocking her,” Levernier said. “Our setters adjusted to pick up tips they started.”
The Crimson Bears’ Veikoso killed for possession to trail 24-23, but a misshit gave the game to Lathrop to tie the match 1-1.
JDHS took initial control of set three with Veikoso serving to a 7-1 lead that included two aces and kills by Nizich and Dihle.
Lathrop would battle back for an 8-7 lead with Foster at service registering three aces and getting help with a block by senior Kenori-Regina Bulgarian and a kill by Hahn.
The two sides would continue to exchange runs with JDHS never trailing and holding a 23-19 lead on a tip by Ma’ake. A kill and block by Lathrop’s Lowe closed the score to 23-21 but Ma’ake killed for set point. Lathrop’s Hahn killed to pull to 24-22, but a Malemutes’ misshit gave JDHS the 25-22 game win and a 2-1 set advantage.
“We came out very strong in the first set but lost some momentum moving into the second,” Nizich said. “We regained our composure and started moving cohesively on the court during the third set again. Making our serves in and controlling our defense was key to running the offense and getting points.”
Set four saw both sides exchange scoring punches until JDHS took a 10-8 lead with Troxel hitting two aces. The Crimson Bears kept the scoring margin in their favor with a block by senior Natalie Harris and a Lockhart service leading to a 19-12 advantage that included two aces and a kill by Dihle.
JDHS pushed to a 24-14 lead until Lathrop’s Lowe killed for possession and Hahn blocked to pull within 24-16, but Dihle found an opening spot on the opponent's side of the net to place the match-winning shot for 25-16.
“Heading into the game, our team had the goal of consistency and playing with intensity and a desire to win,” Dihle said. “We wanted to have a clean game and play to the best of our ability. Looking forward to the game against Service, I hope that we can play excited and focused. I look forward to the challenge and know our team has the ability to rise to the occasion.”
JDHS junior Liliane Veikoso and Lathrop senior Avayah Crumm were selected Player of the Match.
Added Levernier, “For our next match we need to work on our passing so our setters don’t have to work so hard.”
JDHS will face Service on Friday afternoon. The Cougars opened state play Thursday with a 3-0 (25-13, 25-23, 26-24) win over Soldotna and fell to Chugiak 3-0 in Thursday’s winners' bracket quarterfinal. JDHS had opened state play with a loss to the Dimond Lynx, falling 3-0 (25-11, 25-17, 25-21).
• Contact Klas Stolpe at klas.stolpe@gmail.com.
