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JDHS falls to Mt. Edgecumbe in five-set Saturday rematch
Crimson Bears had defeated Lady Braves Friday in five sets after losing senior co-captain
By Klas Stolpe
Juneau Independent
For the second night in a row the Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé Crimson Bears and the visiting Mt. Edgecumbe Lady Braves went the distance on the George Houston Gymnasium volleyball courts, this time however the Lady Braves tipped Saturday’s five-set match in their favor, winning 3-2 (24-26, 25-18, 18-25, 25-16, 15-6).
JDHS won on Friday 3-2 (24-26, 25-27, 25-19, 25-22, 15-12), overcoming a two-game deficit and the loss of senior Liliane Veikoso to an ankle injury.
“The girls are willing to adapt when we lose some of the pieces,” JDHS coach Arnold Ibias said. “I am becoming more and more impressed with how they can make adjustments. I am super happy that we started to utilize some of the stuff that we have been working on in practice, and our hitters are getting smarter and smarter about where we are hitting the ball, and finding places that we can score on defenses. It is still a work in progress, but I saw a lot of it this weekend.”
The extra day gave Mt. Edgecumbe time to relax and rest and they put it to good use.
“We are always learning about each other,” Mt. Edgecumbe coach Margo Livermore said. “Such as if we travel on a day where we wake up early and have to play until 11 o’clock at night (Friday), we kind of die out toward the end. Our girls, sometimes they have good days and sometimes bad, but they don’t take it out on each other. They pick each other up when they get down. So it is good to see that. And they are starting to reset faster when they make mistakes, not letting the errors totally affect their mentality for longer stretches of time.”
On Saturday JDHS and MEHS played to a 6-6 tie before the Crimson Bears went up 11-6 with senior Faith Contreras at service and led 15-7 with senior Haley Gilbert serving. The Lady Braves pulled to 15-12 with senior Marlee Chriss (Big Lake) at service and included two aces and a kill by senior Charity Mila (Utqiaġvik). MEHS is a public boarding school that attracts students from around the state.
JDHS senior Brie Powers served to an 18-13 lead, but MEHS junior Kasia Barnes (Koliganek) killed a shot for service and Mila served to tie the game 18-18, forcing a JDHS timeout. When play resumed Mila served an ace, O’Brien and senior Gracelynn Friske (Sitka) spiked points and Barnes blocked a point for a 23-18 lead.
A mishit allowed JDHS to pull to within 24-21 with Troxel serving, and forced a MEHS timeout. When play resumed JDHS put a string of points over, highlighted by a tip score by junior Ruby Koski that tied the game at 24-24. A Lady Braves mishit gave JDHS a 25-24 lead and Koski killed the game-winner for 26-24.
MEHS took an early 5-1 lead in game two behind three aces by Mila and a scoring tip by senior Zereah Henry (from Point Lay).
The Lady Braces would hold a 12-7 lead and 16-9 behind the kills from Mila.
“The key was a lot of learning,” MEHS Mila said. “We had a lot of new passes, a lot of new subs going into the game. I think we all had a lot of communication working today. At the beginning of the season we had a lot of communication but somewhere along the way we lost it, but I think this trip helped us gain it back.”
Mila is in her third season with MEHS, coming from Barrow (Utqiaġvik) in her sophomore year.
“I feel like it was a really big step for me,” Mila said. “I didn’t want to be away from family but my parents pushed me a lot to better my education and better myself. Learn how to live on your own. It is a good experience. I met a lot of new friends along the way that I didn’t know lived anywhere else. In Southeast there are a lot of games each weekend. At Barrow you only play yourselves or just Kotzebue or Nome or Bethel. This was a big step because I didn’t think I would play a bunch of tourneys. Every week we have a tourney.”
JDHS would pull to within 16-14 with Powers serving an ace and Troxel tipping a score. MEHS went ahead 21-15 behind a kill by senior Gracelynn Friske (Sitka), an ace and a scoring tip by Mila, a block by sophomore Kiauna O’Brien (Bethel) and an ace by sophomore Zoya Tuzroyluk (Point Hope). They closed out the game 25-18.
Game three featured neither team holding more than a three-point advantage until JDHS held a 20-16 lead behind service from senior Clairee Overson.
“Our team plays with grit and determination,” Overson said. “No matter the circumstance, we fight hard every single match. Today we went up against a tough team and we battled all the way to the end.”
JDHS went up 23-17 and MEHS closed to 23-20 before Troxel tipped for a 24-20 advantage and then killed game point for 25-18.
Game four saw MEHS lead 10-5 early with O’Brien at service and including two kills by Mila and a block and two tip scores by Henry.
A single tip by JDHS senior Analia Perry was answered by a run for a 16-7 lead by MEHS. JDHS would get no closer than 16-11 before MEHS pushed out to a 20-13 lead started by a Mila ace. A service error allowed JDHS to pull to 20-15 behind a Koski kill. A mishit earned MEHS service for Friske and her first serve allowed Henry to block for point 22. Friske served for a 23-15 lead. A service error allowed JDHS point 16 but Mila killed for an MEHS 24-16 advantage. A kill by JDHS’ Troxel earned point 17 but a service error gave the lady Braves the game 25-16 and forced a game five to 15 points.
“Key was to just keep talking and knowing that we have each other’s backs,” MEHS’ Friske said. “And having fun. This was good. We were hoping to go 2-0, but we’ll take a win off on them. It was good competition.”
After an exchange of services twice, and the score tied 2-2, Friske killed for point three and possession and Tuzroyluk hit two aces and Mila tipped a score for a 6-2 lead. JDHS pulled to within a point as sophomore Bela Pyare killed three shots and the Crimson Bears closed to 7-5. A service error gave MEHS’ O’Brien service and the Lady Braves received three kills by Mila to aid a 12-5 lead. A mishit gave JDHS a point but Chris blocked for service and a 13-6 lead. Henry hit two aces to win match point 15-6.
“Despite the outcome on day two we worked hard and put up a fight to five sets,” JDHS’ Troxel said. “I am so proud of how resilient and dedicated my teammates were throughout the weekend.”
For JDHS, Powers scored 13 points on serve, Gilbert 12 and Troxel nine among team leaders. Gilbert had four aces and Powers three. Cooper led with 23 pass attempts, sophomore Winter Osterhout 21, Troxel and Overson 16 apiece. Powers had 30 assists. Troxel earned 25 kill attempts, Gilbert and Koski 22 apiece, Cooper 18 and Perry 14. Osterhout led with 20 digs, Troxel eight, Cooper seven, and Powers five.
JDHS next travels to the Colony High School on Thursday, Sept. 24, and the West Anchorage Spiketacular, Friday-Saturday, Sept. 25-26.
• Contact Klas Stolpe at sports@juneauindependent.com
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