JDHS ends season with loss to Wasilla at 4A state volleyball tournament

11 min read

Scrappy Crimson Bears earn Warriors’ respect despite falling in straight sets

Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé senior Haley Gilbert (7) blocks a kill attempt by Wasilla senior Emelia Solsvig (14) during the Crimson Bears’ 3-0 (25-16, 25-17, 25-15) elimination match loss to the Warriors in the 2026 ASAA/First National Bank Alaska 4A Volleyball State Championships at Anchorage's Alaska Airlines Center, Friday, Nov. 13, 2026. (Klas Stolpe / Juneau Independent)

By Klas Stolpe

Juneau Independent

The last rally of the Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé volleyball team in their elimination game against Wasilla during the second day of action at the 2026 ASAA/First National Bank Alaska Volleyball State 4A Championships on Friday at Anchorage’s Alaska Airlines Center, was exactly how the Crimson Bears got here.

And it was exactly what their opponents dreaded.

“They are so scrappy,” Wasilla head coach Elizabeth Olivo said. “On the way here today we were talking about the Juneau game that we watched yesterday and kind of what we should expect as a team. And in the car it was like, ‘they are so scrappy. They have so much heart and they have a coach that really believes in them.’ Those were the three things that we were fighting against. And those are very important things. So I do feel like teams lack a lot of heart and there was no doubt in my mind that they had a lot of it.”

Trailing 24-15 at match point, senior Liliane Veikoso, after killing a shot for possession, rifled a serve across the net. It began an exchange across the net that seemed to last five minutes, and court officials noted had gone between the two sides at least 14 times. A scrappy show of unwillingness to leave the court. The ball would not fall on the opponents' side, however, and state play ended 3-0 (25-16, 25-17, 25-15).

JDHS would exchange an early lead in the first set until Wasilla opened a 11-5 advantage and pushed that out to a 23-12 lead behind kills by senior Emelia Solsvig, Jada Barnes and junior Rosie Gutierrez. The Crimson Bears could not make up the deficit despite strong play from both back and front lines and fell 25-16.

“And then there number seven, their blocker,” Wasilla coach Olivo continued. “She is really good. She is great at reading the block and she is just a really good hitter. And defensively they are just all over the place. And they kept us out. They kept us just like guessing what is going to happen. So that was really great on their part.”

Number seven is JDHS senior Haley Gilbert, a dominant player that did not make the varsity team last season.

“That is one of the best compliments I could ever get,” JDHS’ Gilbert said. “Having it from a coach that lives in Anchorage and sees amazing players on the daily is just a better compliment that I could ever get. I am sad that we lost, but I know we played our hearts out. And I am so excited for the team that is coming up next year, and they are going to do great I believe.”

JDHS coach Ibias also noted Gilbert’s play and the senior class.

“I am going to take a lot of pride in Haley on getting her to where she is,” coach Ibias said. “I guess if I could have one wish, I would have her here for one more year. Not to say I don’t want everybody else, but Haley is just a special girl. I am really going to miss having her in the middle. But the whole group of seniors — we talked about this in the locker room — at the beginning of the year we had groups of girls. A clique here, a clique there. But every match that we went to I could see them start to intertwine with each other. And when we go to the vans, it didn’t matter what van they rode in. They talked a lot about how they were felt like they were sisters and they were family, volleyball is a family. And you hear that a lot. But I truly watched them grow and really start to respect each other. I am prideful of that.”

In set two JDHS took a lead on a block from senior Liliane Veikoso and a scoring tip by senior Clairee Overson. Wasilla would surge ahead 6-3 and 8-4 behind kills from Solsvig, senior Allison Brewer, and aces by senior Paylinh Luangsaysana. JDHS took a 9-8 lead with blocks by Gilbert and senior Analia Perry and a kill by sophomore Bela Pyare. The lead changed sides and Wasilla held advantages of 12-9, 13-11, 14-12, 15-14, and 20-15 before closing out the set in two short rallies of 23-15 and 25-17.

In set three JDHS never found the advantage. Wasilla led early 6-1, 8-3, 12-4, 14-5, 16-6 and 17-7 before JDHS closed to 17-12 behind a kill by Gilbert and a double block from Veikoso and Gilbert. Wasilla had a small rally for a 20-12 lead, 21-13, and 24-14 before Veikoso killed for the final service possession and the inevitable match end.

Through all three sets Wasilla pounded their spikes through defiant JDHS defenders at the net and along the back row and middle. Notable were the digs from seniors Brie Powers, June Troxel, Leila Cooper and sophomore Winter Osterhout among others, and the block attempts by Troxel, Gilbert, Veikoso, senior Analia Perry, junior Ruby Koski and Pyare - playing in place of injured junior Nellie Stowers.

Wasilla coach Olivo noted the Warriors responded by, “Being calm. Doing the little things. That is something we are fighting against. Every single one of these kids have not played in a state tournament. So yesterday we got some nerves off, unfortunately with a loss. But today, hopefully, they are just starting to build that confidence and being calm. Serve receive is a huge thing and then just not letting the scrappiness get us anxious. Just still being calm and watching the ball wherever it goes. None of these girls has played in the state tournament. Wasilla didn’t make the state tournament last year. So this is a whole new team and none of them have played in this exact setting. So that is a new thing for them. It is kind of what we were battling a little bit yesterday, but today I think they are starting to get their momentum.”

Unofficial stats had Gilbert with three kills, three blocks and two scoring tips; Veikoso two kills, two blocks and two scoring tips; Troxel two aces, a block, two kills, multiple digs and assists; Koski a kill and scoring tip; Perry two blocks and a kill; a kill apiece from Powers and Pyare; a coring tip from Overson; an ace from Cooper; and multiple digs and assists from Powers, and Cooper among others.

Unofficial stats for Wasilla have Gutierrez with seven kills and six aces; Solsvig five kills and two blocks; Brewer five kills and two aces; Luangsaysana five aces; senior Chloe Richardson a kill and a block; senior Brystal Shelton a kill, an ace and a scoring tip; junior Payton Sherlock a kill, a block and an ace; and freshman Muriah Dompier a kill, a block, and a scoring tip.

“I think that every single person on our team really brought their all,” senior Brie Powers said. “We knew going into it we wanted to just have a fun game. Especially since our team is mostly seniors we definitely just wanted to make the most of it. We had a long talk in the locker room after. It is good. We really went out with all we had and I think we gave it all we got. You can probably tell our team doesn’t have all the height like the other teams, so we try to mix things up so we can score. I think coach Arnold really does achieve that. He is a really good mentor and coach.”

Wasilla’s praise impacted the JDHS team.

“It meant a lot,” Cooper said. “We did come up her two years in a row and this is our third year up here. But this team really did feel like a family and we are really bonded, and we all love each other so we all gave it our all for all of our seniors. This is our last time up here. We really love playing the Anchorage teams. Southeast teams we play all the time, but Anchorage is new and it is really fun going against these teams like Dimond and Colony, all these teams. They help us get better. We watch them in warmups, watch film, and like after one mistake we know we need to fix something, it is just being aware of what is going on.”

That awareness is how the Crimson Bears respond to the next play.

“That is the heart of what we tried to do this year,” coach Ibias said. “We wanted to be that defensive team. We wanted to keep the ball in play. We wanted the girls to fight for every point. We talked often about winning one point at a time. Unfortunately today we let Wasilla get two or three points and then a side out, two or three points and then a side out. And we couldn’t reciprocate. I am definitely not upset. We did what we wanted to do. We came up here and had been talking about it all year. We wanted to come up here and make some noise. The noise being when people start respecting Juneau volleyball. We all feel like this, coaches and players, we feel like we accomplished that. Obviously it would have been great if we had one a match but it wasn’t totally about that. Obviously you want to win, but it was more about getting us back on the map again. I think we did that.”

JDHS brought eight seniors to state and had 13 in the program. Cooper, Powers, Troxel and Veikoso were the four with the most experience the past three seasons. Key juniors Koski and Stowers were swing players between varsity and JV last season. Seniors Gilbert, Overson, Perry and Faith Contreras were not on varsity last year.

“It is never fun to lose, especially when you know how much everyone has put into it,” Perry said. “Looking back at where we started and how far we made it, I am really proud of this team. We came such a long way and I wish we could play just one more game and have one more chance to be out on the court tether. Even when it ended you could see how much it meant to everyone, which made it even harder. I am also thankful for my coaches and everything they have done for me, pushed me to be better, and helped me grow as a player. I appreciate all the time and effort they put into us. I am so grateful I got to be a part of this team.”

The ASAA Player of the Game selections for the match were Wasilla junior Rose Gutierrez and JDHS senior June Troxel.

“It meant so much,” Troxel said of the honor. “Just kind of proof that I worked hard and despite the loss I still had fun and gave it my all. This state year means so much, especially being able to play with this team. We have a really big team full of seniors so just playing our hardest and having fun that is all that really matters at the end.”

Told of the Wasilla coaches compliment about the Crimson Bears, Troxel said, “It just proves that we are a team that works hard and has grit and determination and we really show that. Especially against opposing teams. Getting words like that from another coach means a lot and it proves that.”

Said JDHS coach Ibias, “It is a huge compliment, obviously coming from a good coach. A huge compliment. I mentioned that to our girls and the look in their eyes, the respect they felt was like, ‘wow.’ Because they were worried that teams were looking at us like an easy win. They wanted to earn respect. And I think we did that up here.”

JDHS’ Contreras said, “This season personally has been about building self-confidence on the court. Not letting others contradict how I see myself as an athlete. I think that building the bonds with my teammates have really helped me with that, which goes to show how much we have grown, not just as a team but a family. Not seeing these girls every day will be such a change, but I know what we have but here has really linked us together.”

JDHS’ Veikoso said of the season, “Nothing to lose, nothing to gain was the mindset for that last set against Wasilla. And this season was the best season of my life, being able to connect more with myself in my play and with my teammates. That feels like family, spending every day together, every down and back, every up the hill conditioning run. We were there for each other. Yes, I am sad about how it ended, but I am happy who it ended with.”

4A SCORES

Thursday championship round 1:

Dimond over JDHS 3-0 (25-14, 25-13, 25-13)

Chugiak over Wasilla 3-0 (25-21, 25-17, 25-18)

South Anchorage over Soldotna 3-1 (18-25, 25-18, 25-17, 25-16)

Colony over West Valley 3-0 (25-8, 25-12, 25-12)

Thursday champ R2:

Dimond over Chugiak 3-0 (25-15, 25-14, 25-11)

Colony over South 3-1 (25-22, 25-21, 24-26, 25-16)

Friday consolation R1:

Wasilla eliminates JDHS 3-0 (25-16, 25-17, 25-15)

Soldotna eliminates West Valley 3-1 (17-25, 25-9, 25-23, 25-21)

Friday consolation R2:

South eliminates Wasilla 3-1 (25-15, 25-16, 16-25, 25-21)

Soldotna eliminates Chugiak 3-1 (25-15, 16-25, 25-17, 25-20)

Friday champ R3:

Colony over Dimond 3-2 (25-17, 25-16, 20-25, 19-25, 15-10)

Friday consolation R3:

South eliminates Soldotna 3-0 (25-20, 25-9, 25-11)

Saturday consolation R4:

Dimond vs South (elimination game)

Saturday championship:

GM1 - Colony vs Dimond/South winner

GM2 - (if both teams have one loss)

SITKA WOLVES END STATE RUN WITH LOSS TO VALDEZ

Sitka senior Bristol Clifton (3) blocks a tip by Valdez senior Elaine Gilson (4) during the Wolves 3-2 (25-14, 25-22, 13-25, 20-25, 15-8) elimination match loss to the Buccaneers in the 2026 ASAA/First National Bank Alaska Volleyball 3A State Championships at Anchorage's Alaska Airlines Center, Friday, Nov. 13, 2026. (Klas Stolpe / Juneau Independent)

The Sitka Wolves lost their second match at the 3A Volleyball State Championships on Friday at Anchorage’s Alaska Airlines Center, falling to Valdez in the elimination rounds 3-2 (25-14, 25-22, 13-25, 20-25, 15-8). The Wolves had lost their opening game on Thursday to Monroe 3-1 (25-14, 22-25, 25-23, 25-17).

“They really fought hard for it,” Sitka coach Zadie Allen said. “It is always a bummer to lose but I am glad we went out fighting.”

Allen said the difference between the first two sets and the next two was, “We just started to pass better and got into the flow of it.”

Sitka has been a comeback team all season.

“We started out behind in the 5th set,” Allen said. “And we just could not find that same groove as the previous sets.”

Allen noted that the Sitka season this year, “Was about love and working hard. They all really enjoy volleyball and playing to together. They are just a competitive and fun group of players.”

Sitka senior Bristol Clifton was selected the ASAA Player of the Game.

"To receive player of the game was such an honor because I feel like I played my hardest and really left it all out on the court," Clifton said. "Especially it being my last game of volleyball and for how hard I worked to get back to playing after my ACL tear benching me last season."

3A SCORES

Thursday championship round 1:

Nikiski over Nome 3-0 (25-15, 25-23, 25-16)

Kenai over Barrow 3-0 (25-13, 25-17, 26-24)

Monroe over Sitka 3-1 (25-14, 22-25, 25-23, 25-17)

Homer over Valdez 3-1 (25-16, 25-16, 22-25, 25-14)

Thursday champ R2:

Kenai over Nikiski 3-0 (25-13, 25-19, 25-13)

Homer over Monroe 3-1 (25-22, 16-25, 25-18, 26-24)

Friday consolation R1:

Barrow eliminates Nome 3-2 (18-25, 20-25, 25-13, 25-11, 15-8)

Valdez eliminates Sitka 3-2 (25-14, 25-22, 13-25, 20-25, 15-8)