The Soldotna volleyball team picked up a 3-1 nonconference win Wednesday night over the Homer Mariners at Soldotna High School, winning with game scores of 20-25, 25-17, 25-22 and 25-20.
The Stars (6-0 overall) extended their regular season win streak while Homer fell to 2-2 overall, outside of tournament play.
The Mariners got off to a fast start by winning the first game, and while the Stars rallied back with three straight game wins to take the match, Soldotna head coach Luke Baumer praised Homer’s level of play in 2019.
“Homer was definitely somebody we knew was a different team this year,” he said. “I know in my time here, I’ve never seen Homer this competitive, they did really well from defense to offense, their serving game. It was hard to find opportunities to score.”
SoHi senior Ituau Tuisaula provided the toughest matchup against the Mariners, raining down 30 kills on Homer’s defense. Baumer said the power and speed of Tuisuala made a huge difference.
“Ituau was obviously our go-to, we told them that anybody could give the ball to Ituau and let her take care of it,” Baumer said. “(Homer) didn’t have an answer for her.”
Tuisaula was joined on the front line by Bailey Armstrong, who had seven kills, Kylie Ness with five kills, Morgan Bouschor with three and Trayce Lyon and Serena Foglie with two each. Armstrong also had five blocks, while Tuisaula notched two.
Junior setter Sierra Kuntz provided 28 assists for all that power, while Hosanna Van Hout had 17. Senior libero Holleigh Jaime tallied 15 digs.
