Wolves serving strong in volleyball in Craig

Wrangell's Lady Wolves high school volleyball team gave a great performance and won four out of five games in Craig last weekend at the Southern Seeing Tournament.

"It went really well," said the Wolves' coach, Jessica Whitaker. Despite some serving errors that persisted on Friday, the team held on to win two of its three matches. Against Metlakatla and Haines, the Wolves swept the opposition in three games apiece.

"Saturday, everything seemed to click," Whitaker said. Her team again swept the next two matches, scoring handily against Skagway though having a tough match-up with Klawock. In three games, Wrangell won 25-19, 26-24, and 25-22, with KHS never far behind.

"They are the team to beat in the region," said Jack Carney, Wrangell High School's activities director. The good showing bodes well for regionals next month, as the top two teams of the region will get to head to the state championships.

Whitaker explained it is usually between Wrangell, Klawock and Craig each year.

"It's usually a toss-up," she added. Last year, the Klawock Chieftans edged Wrangell out for the second-place slot at regionals.

Carney said the team's chances seem fair after the girls' performance last weekend. "That really kind of sets us up."

"We have about two and a half weeks to prepare," said Whitaker. The team will head to Haines for the Region V tournament on Dec. 5. "We still have some things that we're fine-tuning," Whitaker added.

This season has been one of rebuilding for the team, but Whitaker said her returning varsity players have stepped up to the challenge, improving on defense and tightening up on serves.

"I have confidence in them," she said. "Everything is progressing, week to week."