Ninilchik netters take region title

Ninilchik took the first Class 1-2-3A-West Region 2 volleyball championship in school history Saturday with a victory over Tok at Ninilchik School.

The Wolverines had been perfect in region play during the regular season, except for three losses to Tok.

However, before a packed gymnasium of enthusiastic fans, Ninilchik was able to top Tok for the tournament title.

"I think we finally played a lot tougher offense," said Ninilchik coach Mary Clock of her team finally overcoming Tok. "The girls had been playing really good defense.

"But this time, we got a little consistency in the match, kept the intensity up and played good offense. They just played really well as a team. Even when they were down, they kept at it."

Playing a huge role in the victory for Ninilchik were the four seniors on the team. Amanda Matson was named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament, while Amanda Peterson made the all-tournament team. The other two seniors were Randi Hall and Hannah George.

Mindy Dawson, a junior, also made the all-tournament team for the Wolverines. Clock said sophomores Angela Singh and Samantha Evans also played a big role in the victory.

Ninilchik started its run at the seven-team tournament by sweeping Cook Inlet Academy. The Wolverines then defeated Seldovia 3-1 and took down Kenny Lake 3-2 to set up the finals clash with Tok.

Next up for the Wolverines is the state tournament. It will be the first trip to the state tournament for Clock, who has coached the team for three years. The Wolverines will face Nome on Dec. 4 at 4:45 p.m. at Dimond High School in Anchorage.

"Our region has stepped it up with some pretty high quality play," Clock said. "The other regions play a little more high quality defense.

"It should be interesting. It's all new to me."

Also at the region tournament, Tok was second, Kenny Lake was third, Nikolaevsk was fourth, Seldovia was fifth, Tri-Valley was sixth and Cook Inlet Academy was seventh.