By GARLAND KENNEDY
Sentinel Sports Editor
The Sitka High Lady Wolves volleyball squad scored their second win of the season over cross-bridge rivals Mt. Edgecumbe Lady Braves, Tuesday at Sitka High.
Sitka won the best-of-five match in three sets, 25-20, 25-17 and 25-23.
While Edgecumbe came closer to winning a set than they did in the first rivalry match of the season, Sitka junior Michele Winger said her team rebounded well when the Lady Braves applied pressure.
“We kept our energy up... We let our mistakes get into our heads and we then got overwhelmed, but we got it back together,” Winger told the Sentinel.
With Chloe Morrison again sidelined by injury, Winger took on the role of outside hitter.
“It was scary because I’ve never played that position before. But it was a good experience to learn a whole new position… I normally set up people to hit and being the opposite is really different for me because I’m not used to it,” she said.
Coach Zaide Allen was happy with how Winger adapted to the shifting situation.
“We went to Ketchikan, and we came back and Chloe got hurt. In one day we had to throw a person who had never played that position into there. They had to adjust to that and figure it out, and they did well... She’s set her whole career, she’s also hit on the right side. And this last weekend I also moved her to middle, and now she’s hitting outside and she’s never played that,” Allen said.
Winger said she’s ready for the remainder of the season.
“I’m excited for games in the future,” she said.
Lady Braves Mia Anderson receives a serve from Sitka in the first set of a volleyball match, Tuesday at Sitka High. (Sentinel photo by James Poulson)
For team setter Zaeda Dumag, the Lady Wolves excel because they execute the basics well.
“We just work on the basics, just getting the passes up, making sure that they’re settable so we can set up the ball, really, and not letting a lot of the balls go, even if it’s close. It’s really rare for us to just let the ball drop – someone’s always on the ground,” Dumag said.
With the season already in full swing, her squad could improve their energy, she said.
“Our biggest struggle has been consistency with our energy,” Dumag said, “so just trying to start off the game strong in all the matches so we don’t have to struggle in them.”
As the Wolves shuffle positions on the court, she said, the team has displayed significant flexibility.
“It does show how much of a team effort it is, everyone being open to playing new positions and being coachable and being thrown into whatever,” she said. “A flexible team. So it’s not like we’re reliant on any one of our players, I think we can string it together and make it work.”
Sitka’s varsity squad wasn’t alone in victory on Tuesday. In the junior varsity volleyball match, Sitka again won in three, 25-21, 25-19 and 25-20. In the C-Team Blue game, Sitka won 25-10 and 25-14. The Lady Braves won the first set in the C-Team Red game 25-14, but Sitka pulled ahead to win the next two sets 25-12 and 15-9 and sealed the match.
Mt. Edgecumbe’s Charlee Korthuis, of Bethel, said her team has improved its defense since the last game against Sitka.
“Our defense has improved a lot, our back row is digging up the ball, getting amazing saves,” Korthuis said. “And we work with that, whatever we get, we work with it and we get it over the net and continue playing volleyball. With our team, I think we have more effort and we always try to hit the ball over, and over, and back over.”
Korthuis is the Lady Braves’ setter, though she also plays right front.
Edgecumbe left back Lisa Strom, of Fort Yukon, said her confidence has improved through the season.
“Our confidence, from my own experience, I wasn’t as confident in myself playing against them… We realized we have the strength and the talent to have a good game,” Strom said.
She hopes to work on her passing as the season progresses.
“We all need to learn how to read what kind of approach they’re going to do, whether it’s a tip or a hit. We just need to learn how to read that,” she said.
Annika Larson, a middle hitter and blocker from Fairbanks, said that her team improves as a set goes on.
“As long as we keep playing, we feel like we can do better. The longer the set the more likely we are (to do well)… We just need to improve at reading our opponents and once we get there I feel like we can beat them,” Larson said.
She’s eager to see how much the Lady Braves can improve this year.
“I’m just excited to see how much we grow and how much we can see,” she said.
Korthuis agreed.
“I’m excited to see where our team goes… I think we have a lot of potential,” Korthuis said.
Her coach, Mike Mahoney, noted the players work hard on the court and have improved.
“They were close sets, the girls worked really hard. They’re playing well as a team. We believe in continual improvement,” Mahoney said. “Our goal is to, every time we go out there, be competitive… It was a good set, the girls are improving every week… These girls have great attitudes and they work really hard.”
Like Korthuis, the coach says the team’s defense has come a long way.
“Their defensive abilities are getting better, they know their defensive setups better,” he said. “Also, playing a team once, now we know where you hit and where you don’t hit, those kinds of things. And now it becomes a cat-and-mouse game.”
The rival teams face each other again in two weeks.
