Colony snaps Dimond’s streak to reach 4A state final; Homer sweeps Kenai to punch ticket in 3A
What you need to know:
- The Colony Knights snapped Dimond’s 44-match in-state winning streak Friday with a five-set victory, avenging last year’s state championship loss and advancing to the Class 4A title match.
- Colony won the first two sets before Dimond rallied to force a fifth. The Knights will face either Dimond or South Anchorage in the championship match at 4 p.m. Saturday.
- In the Class 3A tournament, Homer swept Kenai to advance to the championship match, where the Mariners will face the winner of the Kenai-Monroe match at 1 p.m. Saturday.
- Short on time but need the local news scoop? Get free weekly news in your inbox for Mat-Su, from Mat-Su.
By Chanda File
Alaska Sports Report
If Friday’s volleyball match between the Colony Knights and Dimond Lynx looked like a replay of last year’s state championship, that’s because it was pretty darn close to it.
Last year’s five-set loss to the Lynx was a memory the Knights were keenly aware of during last night’s rematch.
But this time, the Valley team turned the tables — snapping the Lynx’s 44-match in-state win streak with a 3-2 victory and once again securing a spot in the championship match Saturday at 4 p.m.
“We’ve been trying to do that the entire season,” said senior middle Callan Knutsen after the 25-17, 25-16, 20-25, 19-25, 15-10 victory. “I’m just really proud of us, I think we did great.”
Prep Volleyball
ASAA/First National Bank Class 4A State Tournament
Friday
Winner’s bracket
Colony 3, Dimond 2
Loser’s bracket
Wasilla 3, Juneau 0
Soldotna 3, West Valley 1
South 3, Wasilla 1
Soldotna 3, Chugiak 1
South 3, Soldotna 0
Saturday
Loser’s bracket
11 a.m. — Dimond vs. South
Title match
4 p.m. — Colony vs. winner of Dimond-South
Sophomore outside Taylor Passard didn’t sugarcoat it, saying the Knights were fueled by “revenge from last year.”
Colony caught the Lynx on their back foot from the start and kept them there. There’s no way around it — Dimond just looked off. Uncharacteristic miscommunications and a slew of errors plagued the Lynx squad that came into the night not having dropped a set since Oct. 27.
Meanwhile, the Knights were ready, willing and able to take advantage of the Lynx’s shortcomings, hopping out to an early 6-1 lead in the first set, and enjoying a 12-point advantage later in the set. In Passard’s view, the quick start made all the difference.
“Getting that first hit, I think it’s a lot of adrenaline for our team,” she said. “We run off of emotions, so I think that was really beneficial.”
The Knights’ hype was infectious, especially for the supporters who crowded their end of the stands and erupted after each Colony point.
One person in the crowd hyped up Passard in particular — her 12-year-old brother, who chimed in periodically with an unmistakable cry: “That’s my sister!”
“He is my biggest fan ever,” she laughed.
Friday was the third meeting between the teams this year, with Dimond emerging victorious in both, a 2-0 tournament sweep on Sept. 26 and a 3-2 win on Oct. 20.
The impending end of the season, and thus her high school volleyball journey, had Knutsen emotional after Friday’s match.
“This is the best season yet,” she said. “I’m just so happy to have been able to play with these girls.”
Colony now awaits the winner of the 11 a.m. Dimond-South Anchorage faceoff in the championship, where Knutsen and Passard said they aren’t taking anything for granted.
“We know it’s not going to be an easy game, and we’re going to have to be just as prepared as last time,” said Passard, who added that all of their potential opponents are strong teams.
“They’re always going to play to their full potential,” agreed Knutsen. “We have to make sure we bring it, like, all of it.”
Homer sweeps Kenai
Homer won 25-19, 25-20, 25-19 against familiar foe Kenai in the 3A winner’s bracket game.
This was the eighth time Homer and Kenai have squared off this season, and the Mariners won five of those meetings.
Homer (47-17) improved to 3-0 in the double-elimination tournament and advanced to Saturday’s title game, while Kenai (36-17) will have to battle back through the loser’s bracket to advance to the final for a seventh straight year.
In the first set, Kenai raced out to a 10-7 lead before Homer stormed back. Defense brought the Mariners back. Madalyn Miotke’s block put Homer ahead 12-11 and later Reilly Baker’s block on set point ended it 25-19.
In the second set, Homer used a 9-5 run to build a 16-11 advantage. Jaelynn Kennon’s dump over the block gave the Mariners a 24-19 lead and two points later Kenai dumped a serve into the net to give Homer the set 25-20.
In the final set, Homer closed on a 5-1 run to claim the frame 25-19. Swift Blackstock had two kills and Baker’s backrow blast ended the match.
Prep Volleyball
ASAA/First National Bank Class 3A State Tournament
Friday
Winner’s bracket
Homer 3, Kenai 0
Loser’s bracket
Barrow 3, Nome 0
Valdez 3, Sitka 2
Monroe 3, Barrow 0
Nikiski 3, Valdez 2
Monroe 3, Nikiski 1
Saturday
Loser’s bracket
9 a.m. — Kenai vs. Monroe
Title match
1 p.m. — Homer vs. winner of Kenai-Monroe