Reynolds reminded his players to think back to a 2008 tournament in which the Moose hit the court as the underdog, and to remember what happened. The fourth-seeded Moose upset the top-ranked Soldotna Stars.
Apparently, recalling that victory worked. Because on Thursday, the higher-seeded Moose took care of business.
  
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“I was telling the girls to expect (Kenai) to come out and play hard,” Reynolds said. “We’ve been in the position of being the low seed and having nothing to lose.”
Palmer will now move forward and meet NLC North Division foe Kodiak in the semifinals tonight at 5 p.m. at Wasilla High. Kodiak stunned the top-seeded Stars 3-1 on Thursday afternoon.
Senior captain Nicole Cherrier led Palmer a match-high 15 kills in the win and helped the Moose continually keep Kenai on its heels.
Not only did Cherrier use her power to smack kills into gaps in Kenai’s back row, but the savvy senior also tipped her way to a handful of points during the match.
“She’s come a long way,” Reynolds said of Cherrier, his unquestioned offensive leader. “Even in the last two years, she’s just improved immensely.”
Kenai head coach Michelle Borland said the Kardinals were definitely hurt by Palmer’s Cherrier-led offensive charge.
“They caught us playing flat footed on several occasions, where we were not moving on defense and covering the floor,” Borland said. “They did a nice job.”
Senior captain Brittany Arlow added 17 digs, and senior Danielle Pempek chipped in 11 assists in the victory.
Senior Lexi Beeson led Kenai with eight kills. Senior Lierin Flanagan added six.
Kenai threatened to force a fourth set in the match. The Kards led steadily through the game, pushed their lead to 21-17 late and served for game-point with a 24-23 advantage.
But Palmer was able to come back and net the sweep.
After Kenai grabbed the 21-17 lead, Palmer senior Mallory Manier tipped the ball over the net to snap Kenai’s three-point run.
Following the Manier kill, Kenai smack four straight unforced errors to pull Palmer back into the game.
“They had an unlucky break, and that let us back in,” Reynolds said.
With the win, Palmer is now one victory away from earning an automatic berth to the state tournament. With a win over Kodiak tomorrow, the Moose would move into the conference finals and secure one of the NLC’s three spots in state.
Kenai, meanwhile, will have to put together three straight wins over the next two days to qualify for state for the first time since 2004.
Kenai meets Peninsula rival Soldotna today at 1 p.m. at WHS.
Unfortunately for Soldotna, history proved to repeat itself. Just like last season, the top-ranked Stars fell to the fourth seed from the NLC North in the first round. Kodiak needed four sets to upset SoHi.
Contact Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.
Comments
1 comment(s)Warrior Mom wrote on Nov 6, 2009 10:48 AM: