Just days before the tourney, Colony head coach Amy Carter frantically scanned Internet sites in search of a Juneau-Douglas record. All Colony knew was that Juneau, a squad making its 17th straight trip to the state tourney, always has a solid team to send on to the court.
With little to know about Juneau, the Southeast Conference champions, the Knights simply focused on their own team.
  
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Colony scored a 3-0 (25-14, 26-24, 25-20) sweep of the Crimson Bears during the first round of the ASAA/First National Bank 4A State Volleyball Championships at West Anchorage High School Thursday afternoon.
“We had no clue what we were coming into,” Colony senior Sierra Hodgson said after the win. “But it was a good thing. It forced us to come out and play any type of team that came out.”
And that team was a Juneau squad that featured height up front and an active back line.
Coincidentally, it was the same formula Colony used to win the match and move into the semifinals to play Chugiak today at 3:45 p.m. at West High School.
Hodgson and fellow senior Katie Gonski, who registered 18 digs and 17 digs respectively, led a stellar defensive effort by the Knights.
“Incredible defense on both sides,” Carter said. “Lots of plays I have not seen this season from my girls. Lots from their team, too.”
Hodgson and Gonski made a number of point-saving plays in the back row to consistently keep play alive. Hodgson said it was simply a matter of effort.
“It was hustle everywhere,” Hodgson said. “They kept things alive that we weren’t expecting and so did we.”
While the likes of Hodgson and Gonski led Colony in back, junior middle hitters Shellina Irwin and Tess Forstner posted nine kills each to lead the Knights up front.
“They did really well, especially Tess,” Hodgson said. “She had probably her best (match).”
Colony used a pair six-point runs to win the first set and capped the pivotal second game with a 5-0 run to win the match and earn the right to play the Mustangs, who swept Soldotna 3-0 (25-7, 25-16, 25-14) in the quarterfinals.
Juneau led 9-6 early in the first, but took the lead with the first of its 6-0 runs in the set. Hodgson recorded a service ace to bring the Knights within a point, and Forstner spiked a ball just over the net to tie the score at 9. Senior Brittany Brown slipped an attack just inside the back line to give the Knights the 10-9 lead.
Brown recorded consecutive kills later in the set to cap another six-point stretch.
In the second game, the Bears were actually serving for game point with the 24-21 lead before Forstner knocked a hard shot off the fingertips of a Juneau middle blocker to spark a Colony rally. Brown followed with a similar kill, and setter Siobhan Johansen tipped the ball over the net to tie the score at 24-24.
A Juneau net violation and hitting error gave the Knights the win.
Colony never trailed in the third game and used a four-point run to break a 15-15 tie.
Colony, making its seventh straight appearance in the state tourney, will now look for its third trip to the state title match since 2003.
In order to do that, Colony will have to get past a Mustangs squad that won the Cook Inlet Conference tournament and easily swept Soldotna in the first round.
While Colony moves forward, Palmer was knocked backward with a 3-2 (25-17, 26-24, 21-25, 22-25, 15-9) loss to Dimond in the tourney’s first-round nightcap.
Palmer, the Northern Lights Conference champion, fell behind by two games early in the match, but won consecutive sets to force a fifth game.
The Moose also nearly won the second set, falling by just a pair of points.
Senior Nicole Cherrier led the Moose with 12 kills. Senior Brittany Arlow added nine digs, and senior Mallory Manier chipped in four blocks.
The Moose now face West Valley today at 10:45 in the consolation semifinals. The Wolfpack were swept by South Anchorage earlier in the day.
Contact Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.
Comments
4 comment(s)Jon K wrote on Nov 14, 2009 9:59 PM:
Marianne Forstner Luc wrote on Nov 13, 2009 11:07 AM:
wrote on Nov 13, 2009 10:18 AM:
Good job Knights wrote on Nov 12, 2009 8:41 PM: