Girls volleyball team wins first at regionals, will head to state

From the first-place seed going into regionals to a first-place finish, the Wrangell High School girls volleyball team saw their winning streak interrupted only once in Klawock.

The Lady Wolves faced the Craig Panthers twice in the second day of play last Friday after beating host team Klawock the day before in three sets. Craig bested Wrangell in the first match-up after four sets, dashing their hopes of a clean sweep on Friday, but Wrangell rallied and came howling back to win the second match and the title.

At the start of regionals last Thursday, Wrangell went up against Klawock, making point after point against the. The Lady Wolves got their footing early and never lost it. Klawock was able to anticipate a few of Wrangell's returns, but clear and effective communication kept Wrangell running like a well-tuned machine. Wrangell won the first set, 25 to 10.

Klawock pulled it together for the next two sets, taking advantage of missteps on Wrangell's part. However, teamwork and good fortune favored the Lady Wolves, and they won the next two sets, 25 to 23 each time.

Competition for Wrangell versus Craig was moved to the Craig High School gym on Friday when condensation dripping from the ceiling made the gym floor unsafe to play in Klawock.

The Lady Wolves had a significant lead in the first set against the Panthers, making important saves. Missteps led to Craig creeping up during the game, a tactic they would use throughout the rest of the sets whenever they fell behind. The first set ended with a score of 25 to 21, with Wrangell winning.

Wrangell wasn't able to anticipate a lot of Craig's returns in the second set, allowing Craig to take an early lead. Craig consistently kept a two-point lead over Wrangell. Whenever the Lady Wolves would catch up, the Panthers would power ahead. The second set was in favor of Craig, 25 to 18.

Senior Kiara Harrison would use her height to defend the net and senior Brodie Gardner was quick to dive when the ball cleared Harrison's reach, but it wasn't enough in the third set. Craig consistently got low and scrambled for the ball. That hustle was just enough to stay on top of Wrangell. The third set was won by Craig, 25 to 23.

Wrangell had one more set to tie it up and send the match to five games. At first, the squad seemed to have more confidence than the previous two games, throwing just as much hustle back at Craig as the Panthers had thrown at them. Wrangell led by three points for most of the game, but it ultimately wasn't enough and Craig beat them 25 to 23, moving on to the championship game.

Wrangell went on to play Metlakatla, which beat Klawock just before battling it out with Wrangell. It only took three sets for Wrangell to beat them, 25 to 11, 25 to 16 and 25 to 13. Metlakatla was showing signs of fatigue in the match, having just gone five sets in the Klawock game.

From there, Wrangell went on to fight for first place against Craig in the last game of the night. Wrangell made quick work of Craig, coming into the match with confidence and a lot of energy. They beat the Panthers in the first three sets, scoring 25 to 21, 25 to 18 and 25 to 18. Only one tie-breaking game to 30 points stood between the Lady Wolves and the regional championship title.

Fast-paced play ensued, with Craig showing fatigue and Wrangell surging forward confidently. Wrangell was two points away from the win when they started to make mistakes. Craig took advantage to close the point deficit, coming within six points of Wrangell. The Lady Wolves rallied and scored the final two points to win.

"Craig is pretty senior heavy and very experienced and I think we really learned from (that earlier loss)," head coach Alyssa Allen told the Ketchikan Daily News. "We came out a lot stronger (in the championship). I think we were just more focused and had better energy. We had better communication and hustle."

Wrangell and Craig are scheduled to travel to Palmer to compete in the state Division 2A competition Dec. 1-3.