By GARLAND KENNEDY
Sentinel Sports Editor
The shorthanded Sitka High volleyball squad fought to the end but fell twice to the Thunder Mountain Falcons over the weekend in Sitka.
Despite the losses, Lady Wolves senior Taliah Fredrickson was upbeat after Friday’s match.
“Sitka is well known, we always have good attitudes, just good girls coming in that work hard... Volleyball, this is what you love. Just play because you love it and I think that we find the fun with it and don’t get stressed out,” Fredrickson said.
On Friday, Sitka earned a narrow victory in the initial set 25-20, but Lady Falcons won the next three 25-12, 25-11, and 25-19 to clinch a win in the best-of-five match. In a repeat performance on Saturday, Sitka won a single set 25-15 and lost three 25-22, 25-19, and 25-10.
Junior Jessie Christner stressed the importance of learning from losses.
“It differs from how we take away from the set if we lose,” Christner said Friday. “Even if we lost the set, definitely the mentality helps us win and even if we lose… it didn’t feel like a loss because it was helpful for us too.”
Lady Wolves Andrea Winger bumps the ball in a volleyball game between Sitka High and Thunder Mountain, Friday evening at Sitka High. Thunder Mountain won 3-1 both nights. Sitka plays again this weekend. (Sentinel photo)
The Lady Wolves faced Thunder Mountain with less than a full roster of players. The home team was down by three starters for most of the sets. Against a well-rounded 4A team such as Thunder Mountain, the Wolves fought an uphill struggle. On Saturday, Sitka coach Zaide Allen said Sitka had fielded only six players, meaning that none received any rest through the four sets that day.
Sitka’s bench was already thin Friday, with much of the team’s core off the court.
“We’re missing Zaeda (Dumag), our main setter, and we’re missing Riley (Nutting)... and then when Chloe (Morrison) went down, that was down three starters. And by three starters, two of them play all the way around and have been the core base of this team since I took over two years ago, so yeah,” Allen said on Friday. “I feel like it was... just thrown into a different situation with girls playing positions they haven’t played in a while.”
Despite these difficulties, the Wolves pulled out a win in one set each day. In the fourth and final set on Friday, Sitka put up particularly fierce resistance.
Like her teammate, Fredrickson said that the team should take the losses in stride, as a learning experience.
“Just finish it up, let’s work hard... just really push through. Finish it how we want to finish it. Don’t feel like we lost, learn from it,” the senior said.
On the bright side, Fredrickson said that so far in the season her team communicates well and maintains a positive mindset.
“We’re really set with our plays, we have good communication...We just have a good mental strength with that team as well,” she said.
Christner seconded this.
“I feel like we communicated and just adjusted. Both teams were super positive the whole time, which was awesome,” Christner said.
Like her players, Allen emphasized the need to learn from defeats.
“Especially in that last match. What I told them is in a situation like that you never lose because we’re going to take something out of it and we’re going to learn from it,” the coach said.
“I can’t be mad, those were the cards we were dealt and they did what they were going to do with it,” Allen said. “And I feel like I’m proud of them for doing that because they could have just completely crumbled and let it completely go and they didn’t, they fought for it.”
Sitka High and Mt. Edgecumbe High play this week against each other and against Grace Christian. The schedule is below.
