JDHS spikers finish weekend sweep over visiting Kayhi
- Klas Stolpe
- 5 days ago
- 9 min read
Crimson Bears respond to improving Lady Kings' play
By Klas Stolpe
Juneau Independent
Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé senior Gwen Nizich took two steps and launched herself above the volleyball net dividing the Crimson Bears from the visiting Ketchikan Lady Kings, slamming a ball down onto the court to stop a Kayhi rally and igniting Saturday’s hometown crowd.
“I do vertical training,” Nizich said. “But I didn’t know it was showing.”
It was apparent to everyone else inside the George Houston Gymnasium as the Crimson Bears finished where they left off on Friday by earning another 3-1 win (25-18, 25-22, 21-25, 25-18). JDHS had won on Friday 3-1 (18-25, 25-16, 25-22, 25-19).
With her head above the net, vertical training is definitely showing and resulted in 10 kills Saturday for Nizich and a match-high five blocks. It also seems to be contagious, as senior Lavinia Ma’ake hit 12 kills and a block, senior Braith Dihle seven kills, junior Liliane Veikoso five, junior June Troxel two, and seniors Neela Thomas, Cambry Lockhart and sophomore Ruby Koski one each.
“We definitely have our strategic front row offense,” Nizich said. “And we work together at practice so I definitely think I have chemistry with the people that I am in my rotation with. So communication has really been key with just timing our blocks and our approaches.”
There were numerous instances in which the Crimson Bears’ Nizich, Ma’ake, Dihle, Troxel, Koski, senior Natalie Harris, junior Leila Cooper and sophomore Nellie Stowers stepped up at the net to counter an attacking Kayhi offense.
“They are an aggressive team, and I can definitely tell that they have been working to defend our offense,” Nizich said. “But I think we just came out strong as well and have also been working on our placement with attacks.”
According to JDHS statistics, Ma’ake had 73 kill attempts on the weekend, Dihle 69, Nizich 44, Koski 31, Troxel 21, Veikoso 17, Stowers 10, Harris seven, Lockhart three, Thomas two and junior Brie Powers one. Veikoso also had 42 assists and Powers 40.
In game one Saturday, Ma’ake and Troxel double-blocked a Kayhi shot to stop the Kings’ 9-4 lead, and Thomas killed a shot to allow Troxel a service run that included an ace and an extended rally that ended with Nizich blocking a ball straight down for JDHS’ first lead of the night. Kayhi would work to a 13-11 lead, but a mishit gave JDHS side out, and Dihle served a run that included a Ma’ake kill, an ace, and a double block by Nizich and Koski for a 17-13 lead. An exchange of side outs put Lockhart at service, and she tallied three aces and Troxel killed for a 23-14 lead. A brief Kayhi rally was stopped by a Veikoso kill for 24-18 and Cooper swatted a serve that forced a Kayhi mishit for the set win 25-18.
JDHS would not surrender a lead in game two despite Kayhi pulling to within single points on numerous occasions. Leading 17-10, JDHS saw the Lady Kings slowly creep back to 20-17 until Ma’ake killed a shot for 21-17. A service error pulled Kayhi to 21-18 and Lady Kings’ junior Winter Loretan aced a serve for 21-19.
JDHS’ Dihle blasted a kill shot off a Kayhi blocker and out of bounds for a 22-19 lead, but another service error gave Kayhi side out trailing 22-20 and Lady Kings’ senior Payton Hagan aced a serve to trail 22-21.
JDHS’ Ma’ake again killed for the side out and Nizich killed for set point at 24-21, but a service error pulled Kayhi to 24-22.
The Crimson Bears front line would again be the difference as Nizich and Koski challenged a Kayhi attack and forced a mishit for the 25-22 set win.
Kayhi caused a furor in game three as they forced seven ties to work to 16-16. Nizich would kill a shot for a JDHS lead at 17-16, but three straight Crimson Bears’ mishits with Kayhi’s Loretan on service put the Kings up 19-17. An exchange of side outs pulled JDHS to within 21-20, but three errors gave Kayhi a 24-20 lead. The sides exchanged mishits and Kayhi won 25-21.
With momentum on Kayhi’s side, the visitors kept an early lead and control of game four until Veikoso killed a point and Troxel served five points that included a Dihle tip, a Veikoso block and a Nizich tip for a 14-11 lead.
Kayhi would pull even with Hagan at service and senior Addison Zink killing a shot for 14-14.
JDHS’ Veikoso would tip a score at the net for a side out, Nizich killed a point, Veikoso served an ace, and Nizich and Koski double-blocked a Kayhi spike to retain the score advantage.
The momentum then allowed JDHS’ Cooper to serve an ace in a four-score possession that led to Ma’ake killing for match point and Lockhart keeping a ball alive with a pass to Veikoso, who tipped it over the net forcing a Kayhi mishit for the match.
With all the athleticism in the air for JDHS, Lockhart is the key force keeping the Crimson Bears grounded. She had 37 passing attempts on Saturday and a match-high 33 digs. She would total 61 digs for the weekend (Dihle totaled 37, Ma’ake 29, Troxel 15, Veikoso 15, Powers 13, Nizich 7, Stowers 6, Koski 6, Cooper 3, Harris 2, Thomas 1).
“They are a lot scrappier and definitely competitive,” Lockhart said of Kayhi. “But like I was telling my team, when we are playing them they know our every move. They know every instinct we have to hit each spot for each player. And so just because we play them so much we pick up a lot of what they are doing and I just try to touch every ball, go for what I see. But it definitely helps knowing them, knowing their team, each player, and what they tend to do.”
No matter where Kayhi struck a shot and where the white orb flew, Lockhart found a way to make contact and pass it to the “setter’s spot,” an area up on the net.
“In the volleyball world there is a setter’s spot you are trying to aim for and I try to put it there so they can run and get it,” Lockhart said. “But the tough ones I am just trying to pop them up and touch the ball again.”
Lockhart noted the Crimson Bears still have things to work on.
“We definitely need to improve our defense, but in these games we were really scrappy,” she said. “I think we played a lot better, like, just really hard. For every ball I just try to tell everyone to just touch it, go for every ball, and we are taking that mindset into the better teams up north. Every team that we play, we must play with that same intensity.”
JDHS’ Ma’ake acknowledged that despite having her typical aggressive attack, she missed a few key hits. However, she would rally at the most important moments.
“It was really just a lot of stuff going on in my head that I think I need to do better at,” Ma’ake said. “I don’t know how to forget about my mistakes. I think too much about me, but I am playing for my team, that’s one thing I need to remember. Nellie (Stowers) got to sub in for me and she did great, she killed it on the court. I was able to refresh my mind and my body and go back in. It was all fun. Kayhi is a great team. They are very well coached and they have such good chemistry. They are such a good challenge. It is just us and them in our conference, and it was fun playing with them. I think they really help us realize a lot of the stuff that we need to work on so that we can get better. One thing we need to work on for sure is we get into our heads a lot. So just having the memory of a fish and forgetting everything and restarting right there and then. I think we are our own biggest critics. That is one thing we need to work on as a team. We should celebrate every point, good or bad.”
JDHS’ service rotation of Veikoso, Dihle, Lockhart, Cooper, Ma’ake and Troxel were consistent through the weekend. According to JDHS statistics, Veikoso had 23 points scored on her service and two aces, Cooper 22 and six aces, Dihle 17 and three aces, Ma’ake 14 and five aces, Lockhart 13 and four aces, and Troxel 12 and five aces.
“The key is to stay calm and focus on getting the first one,” Troxel said. “That is our motto for the team. Always get the first one in and then you can do the little tricky top spin or jump serve, but it is always just get the first one in. Since it was a closer game, for me it was just get it in, get it in. Don’t try and do anything fancy, just get it in.”
Troxel, along with Lockhart, is one of the smaller players on the court and she was unabashedly comfortable attacking the taller opponents at the net.
“I definitely try to get around the blocks, which is super hard to do,” she said. “So my mindset is just try it one time, and if I get blocked then move it around, push it...Ketchikan has definitely gotten so good. They have such good girls on that team, too. It is really fun to play them. I think this weekend shows that we can come back from losing a set, that we are strong enough and have a good mindset, that we are growing throughout the season. Knowing that we can come back from a loss like that is great.”
JDHS coach Jody Levernier said the Crimson Bears haven’t played their best sets yet.
“I think we can improve,” she said. “I think we can play at a faster pace than that. So we need to not play to other people’s levels but that’s OK, we have more to improve on. We need to play a faster game. That means moving with more purpose on the court and not setting too high and giving opponents time to adjust. Some of our sets were really high tonight and it was throwing some of our hitters off, which can happen if a pass is a bit off. We just need to play more fluidly, stay low, move all together on the court. Just play our game…pick up the pace and play the game we know how to play, with the excitement and drive we have in practice.”
One thing is clear for JDHS, the vertical training is paying off.
“It is for the blocks,” Nizich said.
Against Ketchikan this season, JDHS won 2-0 at the Mt. Edgecumbe Jamboree Aug. 22-23; won 3-1 and 3-0 at Ketchikan Sept. 5-6; won 2-0 at Sitka’s Slamma Jamma Sept. 19; went 1-1 at the JIVE Oct. 3-4; and won 3-1, 3-1 this weekend.
The Crimson Bears play at Anchorage’s Dimond High School next weekend and then host Sitka for the JDHS senior night on Oct. 31-Nov. 1.
The Region V Championship is in Ketchikan on Nov. 7-8 and state is in Anchorage on Nov. 13-15.
• Contact Klas Stolpe at klas.stolpe@gmail.com.
