Taking the scenic route through town on the back of a fire truck, the girls from Wrangell High School's volleyball team get a triumphal return from Region V in Petersburg over the weekend. Taking second place overall, the Lady Wolves secured their first trip to State in over a decade.
After a rollicking three days in Petersburg for Region V, the Lady Wolves volleyball team will be headed to State next weekend.
Twelve Wrangell students headed to the tournament, seeded third among their division's teams after a hard-fought season.
"Everybody got to step onto the court over the weekend," said Jessica Whitaker, Wrangell's head coach.
Her girls began their tournament against Haines on November 16, starting off with a strong 25-9 win. The second match came out more closely at 25-18, with Haines reversing those scores in a third-match win of its own. The series ended with a Wrangell victory, after finishing 25-11.
The next afternoon Wrangell faced Craig, with the Lady Panthers historically the team to beat at regionals. Facing each other previously, Wrangell had come off with a win at the Juneau invitational in October, while Craig would win after a five-match slog at home the following week.
In Petersburg last week, the teams first run-in of the tournament concluded with a sweep for Craig. It won the first match over Wrangell 25-16, the next 25-15, and the third 25-8.
Heading to the back bracket, Wrangell met Metlakatla Friday evening. After a close opening match the Lady Wolves won 25-21. Metlakatla returned with a win of its own at 25-15, with Wrangell winning the next 25-13. It concluded the game with a decisive 25-9 win in the fourth match.
Wrangell moved on next to face Klawock early Saturday. As with the game against Metlakatla, Wrangell won a closely contested opening match 25-22. It won the second match as well, 25-19, before Klawock stayed afloat with a win of its own at 25-17. The fourth match ended up being the final with a 25-20 Wrangell win.
Emerging with another shot at the title, that afternoon Wrangell met Craig for a rematch. The Lady Panthers began with a 25-21 win, but Wrangell responded with a win of its own, 25-18. Gameplay continued with the teams exchanging point for point, win for win. Wrangell lost the third match in a close 22-25 conclusion, before winning the next 25-16.
In the fifth and final match, play went into overtime as the scores met the 15 mark. Whichever team won would secure a berth to the state-level championships and get the opportunity to play an unbeaten Petersburg team for region leader.
"It was a nail-biter all the way through," said Jaime Cabral, Petersburg High School's activities director. "That match was probably the match of the weekend."
"All five games were very close, point for point. They could've gone either way," Whitaker said. "We played them plenty this season, we knew what we had to do."
Cleaning up on its passing and serving over its earlier performance, the Wrangell team finished up with the win, scoring 17 points over Craig's 15. The girls cemented a spot at State, the team's first time attending since 2006.
"We're all just very excited," said Whitaker, who has been coaching for Wrangell the past 10 years. The trip to State will be a first for her, too.
It was not quite time to celebrate yet, with a final game against Petersburg scheduled for Saturday evening. Except for some non-conference losses in Juneau, the team had come through the regular season undefeated.
Wrangell had come close to breaking its streak when hosting the Lady Vikings the previous weekend. But Petersburg ended up sweeping the team in three, winning matches to Wrangell's 19, 13 and 15 points.
Whitaker had been proud of her team's performance, and their berth at State was seen as the product of the players' hard work. "The girls played exceptionally well," she said.
A number of awards were distributed to Wrangell players as well. Making the All-Conference Team were sophomore Kaylyn Easterly and junior Helen Decker. Noted for their behavior on and off of the court, senior Anna Allen and freshman Terra Hoyt were both recipients of the Sportsmanship Award. And for grades, Allen, Kayla Hay, Kiara Meissner, Krissy Lockabey, Erin Galla and Bethany Comstock all were named to the All-Academic Team.
The weekend was a good one for the program, and rather than being a successful end to its season presented an opportunity to further compete with the state's best teams.
"I think it's great. Every year it seems like we're getting more and more kids involved," commented Trisa Rooney, Wrangell High School's activities director.
After taking the holiday weekend off for Thanksgiving, the team will be headed up to Anchorage for the Alaska School Activities Association 3A/4A State Championships, co-sponsored by First National Bank of Alaska. Wrangell's first match is scheduled for November 30 at 10 a.m.
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