TRUCK FIRE – Firefighters knock down a fire in a Ford Explorer truck in Arrowhead Trailer Park in the 1200 block of Sawmill Creek Road Saturday evening. One person received fire-related injuries and was taken to the hospital, Sitka Fire Department Chief Craig Warren said, and the truck was considered a total loss. The cause of the fire is under investigation, Warren said. The fire hall received the call about the fire at 5:33 p.m., and one fire engine with eight firefighters and an ambulance were dispatched, he said. (Sentinel Photo by James Poulson)

State Sues EPA For Pebble Mine Decision
18 Mar 2024 14:29

By YERETH ROSEN
Alaska Beacon
    The federal government owes Alaska more than $700 billion in comp [ ... ]

Bill Seeks Makeover In State Parole Board
18 Mar 2024 14:26

By CLAIRE STREMPLE
Alaska Beacon
    Sylvester Byrd Jr. served nearly three decades in prison for a [ ... ]

City League
18 Mar 2024 14:24

By Sentinel Staff
    Competing Sunday in a City League volleyball match, a short-handed Yellow Je [ ... ]

March 18, 2024, Community Happenings
18 Mar 2024 14:23

Heritage, Cultural
Tourism Event
Here this Week
The ninth annual Heritage and Cultural Tourism Conferen [ ... ]

March 18, 2024, Police Blotter
18 Mar 2024 14:19

Sitka police received the following calls by 8 a.m. today:
March 15
At 4:30 a.m. a fender bender invol [ ... ]

Sitka Officials Respond: Schools Facing Crisis
15 Mar 2024 14:47

By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
    Rep. Rebecca Himschoot and School Board President Tri [ ... ]

Katlian Road Work Halted; $20M Needed
15 Mar 2024 14:46

By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
    With $20 million needed to complete the Katlian Bay r [ ... ]

Record Herring Run, Sac Roe GHL Forecast
15 Mar 2024 14:04

By GARLAND KENNEDY
Sentinel Staff Writer
    A historically high herring return is forecast for Sit [ ... ]

Dunleavy Names Judge For Sitka Superior Court
15 Mar 2024 14:03

By GARLAND KENNEDY
Sentinel Staff Writer
    After a year-long vacancy in the Sitka Superior Court  [ ... ]

Dunleavy Vetoes Hike In Education Funding
15 Mar 2024 14:00

By JAMES BROOKS
Alaska Beacon
    Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy, following through on an ultimatum, vet [ ... ]

Bill Seeks to Lower Cost Of Diagnostic Breast Scre...
15 Mar 2024 13:59

By YERETH ROSEN
Alaska Beacon
    For many of the women considered to be at high risk for breast ca [ ... ]

March 15, 2024, Community Happenings
15 Mar 2024 13:52

Climate Connection -- Cruise Tourism Choices
Citizen groups in many port cities have mobilized to pre [ ... ]

March 15, 2024, Police Blotter
15 Mar 2024 13:24

Sitka police received the following calls by 8 a.m. today:
March 14
An Austin Street resident said a c [ ... ]

Friday Dinner to Aid Cathedral, Homeless
14 Mar 2024 15:09

By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
    The Sitka Homeless Coalition and St. Michael’s Sist [ ... ]

Tourism Industry to Hold Conference Here
14 Mar 2024 15:08

By GARLAND KENNEDY
Sentinel Staff Writer
    Sitka’s annual Heritage and Cultural Tourism Confere [ ... ]

House Bill: Child Porn Is Child Sexual Abuse
14 Mar 2024 13:26

By CLAIRE STREMPLE
Alaska Beacon
    Language matters, the House agreed on Wednesday, when it advan [ ... ]

Small Boost Forecast In State’s Oil Revenue
14 Mar 2024 13:25

By JAMES BROOKS
Alaska Beacon
    A new state revenue forecast that includes modestly higher oil pr [ ... ]

March 14, 2024, Police Blotter
14 Mar 2024 12:15

Sitka police received the following calls by 8 a.m. today:
March 13
Vehicles left parked at Sealing Co [ ... ]

March 14, 2024, Community Happenings
14 Mar 2024 12:13

SFS, Coliseum
To Show 15 Shorts
The Sitka Film Society and Coliseum Theater will present the Oscar Sho [ ... ]

Sockeye Run Faces 50% Bag Limit Cut
13 Mar 2024 15:13

By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
    Sitka Tribe of Alaska told the Assembly Tuesday that  [ ... ]

City May Take Over Blatchley Pool Operations
13 Mar 2024 14:45

By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
    Among proposals presented to the Assembly Tuesday for [ ... ]

Sitkans to Share Tales of Wooden Boats
13 Mar 2024 14:18

By GARLAND KENNEDY
Sentinel Staff Writer
    The public is invited to a discussion Thursday on the  [ ... ]

Commentary: Outer Coast College Has New Education ...
13 Mar 2024 14:16

By BRYDEN SWEENEY-TAYLOR
Outer Coast executive director
In 1986, two linguists, Ron and Suzie Scollon, [ ... ]

March 13, 2024, Community Happenings
13 Mar 2024 14:01

Vigil on Saturday
At Roundabout
Community members are invited to attend the weekly Voices for Peace vi [ ... ]

Other Articles

Daily Sitka Sentinel

Sitka Dominates Season’s First Rivalry Match

By GARLAND KENNEDY
Sentinel Staff Writer

The Sitka High Lady Wolves scored a decisive victory over the Mt. Edgecumbe Lady Braves in the first rivalry match of the volleyball season, Tuesday at the B.J. McGillis Field House. Bolstered by rock-solid defense and strong hitting from a well-coordinated squad, Sitka earned a 3-0 win.

Sitka senior Chloe Morrison was happy that her team had a chance to test their strength against Edgecumbe after almost a year of waiting.

“It feels great, it feels like we haven’t played them fully in a long time just because of COVID and everything,” Morrison told the Sentinel after the game. “And both teams are completely different and there’s not a lot of returners on that team. I feel like we did really well with the team we had and just getting Zaeda (Dumag) back, it felt really good.”

Both Dumag and Morrison were sidelined by injury earlier in the season, but with Sitka’s full team brought to bear, the Lady Wolves won by a handy margin in all three sets of the best-of-five match, 25-11, 25-16, and 25-13.

Throughout the game, the Lady Braves struggled to crack through Sitka’s defense or to block hits from Morrison and her teammates, Ava Brady and Taliah Fredrickson.

Morrison said that close interpersonal bonds between team members push the Lady Wolves to perform well under pressure.

“We’re all really close in friendships too, so it makes it a lot easier to get along and work really well together… We moved our feet a lot better than we have in the past, just conditioning a lot and I feel like we were prepared,” she said.

After weeks of watching volleyball from the sidelines, Dumag was glad to return to the court.

“It feels really good to be back. Sitting and watching, it’s not the same. I’m feeling better and it’s nice to be back with teammates. We’re hyped,” Dumag said.

She noted that on defense her team adapted well to Edgecumbe’s pressure.

“We adapted our coverage, we didn’t doubt anyone. We committed to the ball,” she said.

While the Lady Braves sometimes upped the ante of the match and evened the score on several occasions, Dumag highlighted Sitka’s ability to rally and remain present in the moment rather than fixating on the past.

“You’ve got to forget the past points, you’ve got to move forward keeping it fresh, keep calm,” she said. Each time Edgecumbe rallied, Sitka pushed back and stretched their lead.

Sitka coach Zaide Allen was happy that her players stayed calm and level through the match, despite comeback attempts by the Lady Braves.

“We played really well on defense. They just played together the whole time,” the coach said. “They stayed at their level and they kept that level of play the whole night. And even when we had moments where our level of play went a little down we got it back up.”

Above all, Allen expressed confidence in her players’ ability to adapt and overcome.

“When that set of girls is out there,” Allen said, “I usually trust that they are going to pull it together and figure it out. When the core group that has been there for two years, I just know them to… play smart and figure it out… I trust that they’re going to make a mistake, and they’re going to know that they made a mistake, and then they’re going to be, “Oh yeah, OK,’ and then move on.”

For Mt. Edgecumbe senior Mia Anderson, Tuesday’s game was a welcome – if nerve-wracking – opportunity to return to volleyball after the pandemic severely limited the 2020 season.

“It’s just really fun to be back out there… I got to play (against Sitka) my sophomore year and some of my freshman year, and then junior year I didn’t get to play,” Anderson said. “And coming back I was a little bit nervous just because I hadn’t really seen them face to face on the court. But seeing them and once we started getting in the game, I started feeling back in it and it wasn’t as scary. It was definitely fun.”

Her younger sister, sophomore Tessa Anderson, saw the game as a chance to learn how the teams have changed over the last year.

“It was really fun to get out there… I know the people there. It was nice to see them also to see how they’ve improved and how I’ve improved,” Tessa Anderson said.

She said her teammates are good at keeping their spirits high despite a loss.

“We’re getting better about keeping our heads up and also keeping each other’s heads up and lifting each other,” she said.

Her older sister agreed.

“It’s so easy to get down on yourself and get annoyed, frustrated… but we just have good chemistry. We know how to hold each other up and not knock each other down and I think that’s really important,” Mia Anderson said.

Rie Christianson, an MEHS sophomore also from Sitka, noted that she was nervous at the beginning of the match but settled into a routine.

“I was really nervous most of the time but I really had a fun time. It was nice to see the girls that I’ve known before… Watching it, it seems so intimidating. But when you get on the court and really get settled, it’s not as scary,” Christianson said.

Much like athletes on both sides of the net, MEHS coach Mike Mahoney was happy for the return of volleyball.

“It’s good to be playing again. It feels really good, I mean we didn’t win tonight but we have a very young team this year, we only have four seniors on the team. We have a lot of players that played some in junior high but they haven’t played in high school because of COVID… Hopefully we’ll be able to pick up some points on Sitka next time we play, COVID willing. We’ve already been able to travel twice this year. We’re not winning a lot right now but it’s just great to be back on the court. And I couldn’t ask for a better group of girls to be working with,” Mahoney said.

Through the game, Edgecumbe’s young squad struggled to prevent errors.

“We have a couple really good servers and we also, being a young team that is learning a lot,” Mahoney said. “We have stretches when things are going well and they play well, and then they lose it for a little bit… With any team, unforced errors are a monster that we have to deal with and it’s hard for the girls not to get discouraged, but as they’re learning they have to learn from their mistakes.”

Mahoney noted that in recent matches against Eielson High, serving errors cost the Lady Braves dearly.

“We played against Eielson and beat them 3-0 and then the next night we lost 3-1 because we served 22 serves in the net,” the coach said.

Mahoney said quarantines also have cost the team some players.

“We’ve had a number of kids that have been in different stages of quarantine due to COVID, and so we have some players that would probably be on varsity playing with us but they haven’t had their ten practices yet,” he said.

Both local volleyball teams have this coming weekend off but travel south to Ketchikan to play again next week.

You have no rights to post comments

Login Form

 

20 YEARS AGO

March 2004

Businesses using the Centennial Hall parking lot testified Tuesday against a proposal to charge them rent in addition to the $200 annual permit fee. City Administrator Hugh Bevan made the proposal in response to the Assembly’s direction to Centennial Hall manager Don Kluting to try to close the $340,000 gap between building revenues and operational costs.


50 YEARS AGO

March 1974

Alaska Native Brotherhood Grand President William S. Paul Sr. will be special guest and speaker at the local ANB, Alaska Native Sisterhood Founders Day program Monday at the ANB Hall.

Calendar

Local Events

Instagram

Daily Sitka Sentinel on Instagram!

Facebook

Daily Sitka Sentinel on Facebook!