Helen Decker and Makena Hammer both were named to the All-Conference Team for their play throughout the tournament. Decker was the team's defensive linchpin while Hammer led for points and kills.
The 2016 season ended on a positive note for the Lady Wolves, after finishing up in third place during Region V in Craig.
"We went into the tournament seeded fourth," explained volleyball coach Jessica Whitaker.
The starting position for the tournament had been settled during the 2A North Seeding weekend in Skagway last month. Region V is a
double elimination, best-of-five series, giving teams plenty of opportunity to make it count. The top two teams then head to state-wide
competition at Dimond High School in Anchorage this weekend.
Play started November 30, shortly after arrival.
Wrangell's girls had been working on their serving and passing through the season, and the extra work helped translate into better scoring by its end.
"The girls were able to sweep Metlakatla in three games," Whitaker recounted.
The next day Wrangell played their undefeated hosts, the Lady Panthers. Craig remained unscathed heading into the next round, but not without some close competition.
"The girls still had some pretty tough games," the Wrangell coach said.
In the secondary bracket,
the Lady Wolves had a busy day ahead of them Friday.
It began with a tough win
over Haines in the morning, another set of wins
over Klawock – seeded
third at the Skagway tournament – before coming up against the region's two-seed, Petersburg.
The Lady Vikings had been bested by Craig in a close series of sets earlier in the semifinals, and continued to play tough coming up against Wrangell. The Wolves were able to draw out the game to four sets, winning one early on.
"We had a really tough match against them," Whitaker noted.
After its win,
Petersburg moved on to rematch Craig in the final that evening, finally winning one against the team to beat.
In the subsequent "if" game, the two played one additional set of 30 points to decide
which would take the topmost place in the region. In a
close 30-28 game, the
Lady Panthers won and will represent Southeast's 2A schools in Anchorage as the region leader, accompanied by Petersburg.
"It was great volleyball," commented Troy Thain,
Craig High School activities director. Play had been really competitive throughout the tournament, and travel arrangements to the meet were unhindered by otherwise uncooperative weather.
Players got on well together, too. Wrangell parent Clay Hammer noticed that erstwhile rivals Wrangell and Petersburg cheered each other on during the week's matches.
"At this tournament, the Wrangell and the Petersburg girls totally had each others' backs. It was an awesome thing to see," he said. Of course, when playing each other directly, he pointed out "it was on then." But the same camaraderie proved true for all the teams at the tournament, which ended up being a fun experience.
Whitaker pointed out several players picked up awards for the season. Helen Decker and Makena Hammer were both selected for the All-Conference Team, and Hammer, Grace Cano and Alex Angerman made the All-Academic Team for their grade point average, maintained over the past four years. Hammer also was named to the Sportsmanship Team along with Kayla Hay.
Whitaker said the girls will be hosting their annual alumni game on December 21, with the junior varsity versus varsity game to start at 6 p.m. in the high school gym. The varsity v. alumni game will follow after that.
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