The Nikiski Bulldogs saw a David vs. Goliath run fall short of the finals Saturday at the 2018 West Spiketacular volleyball tournament.
Nikiski made it to the quarterfinal round before falling to Dimond 2-0 with scores of 25-10 and 25-12. The Lynx went on to win the tournament over South.
Soldotna finished 13th overall with a winless bracket play. The Stars lost 2-0 to Bartlett with scores of 25-19 and 25-18, then lost 2-0 to Kodiak with scores of 25-21 and 27-25.
Kenai Central finished 17th overall after going winless in pool play and in bracket competition. The Kards lost 2-0 to Bartlett in their first bracket match with scores of 25-15 and 25-13, then lost 2-1 to East Anchorage with scores of 21-25, 25-23 and 10-15, ending their tournament run.
Nikiski’s loss to Dimond dropped the Bulldogs into a second-chance bracket, where they lost 2-0 to South Anchorage with scores of 25-14 and 25-14. The Bulldogs finished in a tie for fifth in the tournament with Service, a Division I program.
Nikiski’s journey to the quarterfinals began with a 2-0 match win over Juneau-Douglas with scores of 25-18 and 25-18, then continued with a 2-1 match win over Wasilla with scores of 25-14, 11-25 and 16-14. The win over Wasilla set Nikiski up for the quarterfinal clash with Dimond.
In Friday pool play, Soldotna won pool A with a 6-2 record, while Nikiski finished second at 5-3. Kenai finished last in pool B with an 0-7 record.
SoHi beat Service 25-23, beat Nikiski 25-19, lost to West 25-15, beat West Valley 25-9, beat Colony 26-24, beat Palmer 25-13, lost to Bartlett 25-20, and defeated East 25-15.
Nikiski beat Colony 25-18, lost to Soldotna 25-19, beat East 25-12, lost to Palmer 25-20, beat West Valley 25-19, lost to West 25-19, beat Bartlett 25-10 and beat Service 26-24.
Kenai had losses of 25-14 to Kodiak, 25-13 to Nome, 25-12 to South, 25-13 to Wasilla, 25-16 to Juneau, 25-16 to Dimond and 25-16 to Grace Christian.
