JDHS Crimson Bears junior strikers battle Wrangell’s varsity Wolves
- Klas Stolpe
- Oct 14
- 6 min read
Visitors making a stop in Juneau en route to Haines claim a 3-1 match after splitting first two sets
By Klas Stolpe
Juneau Independent
The Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé Crimson Bears junior varsity volleyball team got a bite of the big time as they clashed with the Wrangell Wolves varsity on Tuesday in the George Houston Gymnasium, but were left with a bitter aftertaste as the Wolves won the match 3-1 (25-12, 13-25, 25-15, 25-18).
“Communication was very much key,” JDHS sophomore Lydia Goins said. “And really being out there and being aggressive against them because they will hit and block and rip, and you can’t expect what is coming because they will do anything. So you have to be ready for everything.”
The Wolves were passing through Juneau on their way to Haines and relished the chance to get a taste of the battle-tested bite-sized younger version of the JDHS varsity feeder program.
“This is great for us,” Wrangell coach Shelly Powers said. “We may as well have a game against a strong program instead of a practice.”
JDHS junior Haley Gilbert opened the night with a service ace.
“My mindset was to try and get better through the game,” Gilbert said. “This team was definitely very fun to play. They are really sweet, they are all so nice and I love playing them. I feel we all know what we need to work on now, and now we are going to do that and we are going to win next time.”
Wrangell struck back with a kill by Analia Perry, but were answered by a kill from JDHS sophomore Nellie Stowers. The Wolves then buckled down with kills by Jenna Eastaugh and Alana Harrison.
The Wolves would take a 10-5 lead with another kill by Eastaugh and a Harrison service ace.
JDHS stayed within four points, but Wrangell found a six-point service run behind Sophia Martinsen, including two aces, for a 21-9 lead until JDHS junior Macy Summers killed for possession.
“We always try and keep a steady pace when we are playing any competitors, and we want to make sure we are playing our hardest and fighting our hardest to win,” Summers said. “Although this game might not have been our best, I feel like we still fought hard and played to the best that we could. We can all get tired sometimes and we can all lose some energy, but in the end I think we did well as a team together. But our next game with Wrangell will be better.”
A JDHS mishit gave the ball back to Wrangell, but Stowers killed for the ball and senior Michelle Meeks aced a serve to pull within 10 points, 22-12.
A mishit returned possession to Wrangell and Harrison served an ace, and another serve was mishit to give the Wolves the 25-12 set win.
JDHS would take a 3-0 lead starting set two with sophomore Destiny Su’a at service.
Eastaugh and Harrison combined for a double block and two kills to tie the score, but JDHS would begin a slow grind for control.
Junior Amelia Elfers blocked for a point and strong service by junior Clairee Overson, Elfers, Goins and sophomore Zoe Tagsip kept the Crimson Bears rolling. Kills by Goins, Gilbert, Summers and senior Kaylee Koelsch pushed JDHS to a 14-10 lead.
Meeks served to 16-10 until a net violation gave Wrangell possession but Elfers would tip a shot over to earn it back and S’ua aced two serves for a 19-11 advantage. Overson would serve to 23-12 and after a kill by Wrangell’s Eastaugh for possession the Wolves had a mishit and Elfers served for the win 25-13.
Set three saw an early tie at 3-3 and Wrangell slowly grinding out the lead to 15-7 before Gilbert leapt for a ball and ripped a kill for possession.
“You just have to know they could be set up anywhere and be ready for anything,” Gilbert said.
JDHS would pull to 16-11 on a kill by Meeks and an athletic dig by S’ua that went over the net and surprised the Wolves for a score. Wrangell would hold on with two kills by Harrison and a service ace by Christina Johnson to coast into the win 25-15.
The final set started with an exchange of points on kills by JDHS’ Summers, Tagsip and Gilbert. Gilbert would add a scoring block as would Koelsch to tie the game at 7-7.
Wrangell’s Johnson blocked for possession and Harrison killed for a 9-7 lead. After a service error Wrangell’s Eastaugh killed a shot, Johnson served two aces and Natalia Ashton slipped a scoring shot over for a 13-8 lead.
After an exchange of points, JDHS’ Elfers tipped a shot for possession and Meeks served three points, getting help from a S’ua tip and a Goins kill. A service ace by Meeks and a Wrangell mishit tied the score at 14-14.
An exchange of scoring points pushed the game to an 18-18 tie before a JDHS service error gave Wrangell possession. JDHS would have four mishits to trail 23-18 and Wrangell’s Paige Hoyt killed for point 24 and Harrison killed for the match, 25-18.
“Personally I think we are getting better as a team,” Goins said. “Working together, getting that team environment and we are putting our best out there to hopefully win our games and just do good overall.”
JDHS will host Ketchikan this weekend. Friday and Saturday game times are 4:15 p.m. for C team contests, 5:45 p.m. for JV play and 7:15 p.m. for varsity action.
• Contact Klas Stolpe at klas.stolpe@gmail.com.
