The 2017 Northern Lights Conference Volleyball Tournament, featuring three days of tournament action, opened on Thursday at Kodiak High School with the Soldotna Stars and Kenai Kardinals paired in the first round.
The Soldotna Star volleyball team recorded a three-game sweep of the Kardinals 25-17, 25-21 and 25-17. The victory advanced the Stars to a winner’s bracket, second round pairing against the #2 seed Wasilla Warriors.
In the SoHi vs Kenai contest, the #3 seed Stars received an 11-kill effort from Aliann Schmidt and Cally Christianson added 21 assists. The Stars advanced to play Wasilla and fell in four games to the Warriors 25-14, 25-15, 22-25 and 25-18. SoHi’s Schmidt recorded six kills and Holleigh Jaime produced 17 service points.
The Stars and Kardinals continue tournament play on Friday in Kodiak with double-back games on the Kodiak court.
Kenai opens with a match against Palmer at 11 a.m. The Stars play host Kodiak in the 1 p.m. elimination game. The next loss for either Kenai or SoHi will eliminate them from the 2017 NLC volleyball tournament.
Both teams, in the double elimination format, have the opportunity to advance to and possibly win the Northern Lights Conference tournament and earn a spot at the 4A state volleyball tournament.
Colony, #1 seed, and Wasilla, #2 seed, advance to the Friday evening semi-final in the winner’s bracket with the winner advancing to the NLC championship game and earning an automatic berth to the upcoming ASAA State Volleyball Championships.
