The eleven members of the Mt. Edgecumbe Girls’ Varsity Volleyball team pose with their 3A state championship trophy. The players hail from all over the state, from Sitka to Hoonah to Nome. (Photo courtesy of Mike Mahoney)
Mt. Edgecumbe Girls’ Varsity Volleyball team has bumped, set, and spiked their way to victory again this year. The Lady Braves won the 3-A State Title on Saturday (11-12-16) for the second year in a row.
Head coach Michael Mahoney says the secret sauce is consistency, playing like a family, and being prepared. The Braves woke-up at 5:30 AM for an 8 AM match Saturday morning against Grace Christian, which would pull the winner out of the loser’s bracket and into the title game. The Lady Braves pulled it off, 3 -1. Mahoney says the momentum of that win carried the team against Nikiski, 3-0. This victory forced a playoff — sometimes called an “if game” — which would give the first team to 30 points the state title.
“In that match, our blockers – our middle blockers Hannah Alowa and Haylee Steffes – were fantastic at shutting down the offense for Nikiski. And then our back row, our well-trained back row, did a wonderful job of just digging up every hit that Nikiski sent over and getting it back to Zhane White, our all state setter. A lot of things went well on Saturday,” said Mahoney.
From L to R: Rachelle Persson (All State Team; Best Defensive Specialist Award), Haylee Steffes (All State Team), and Zhane White (2nd time selection to All State Team; Best Setter Award). (Photo courtesy of Mike Mahoney)
Saturday’s victory is the fourth state championship for the Lady Braves in six years. Even though the players change, Mahoney says some things stay the same. That includes leadership from senior players. “They’re nervous about playing but they’re not so nervous that they freeze up. A lot of our teammates have been to the state championship before, have been in the state tournament before, and they know what to expect. They’ve played in the UAA Alaska Airlines Center. They know the lines, they know the sound, they know the crowd,” he said.
While Mt. Edgecumbe doesn’t recruit specifically for volleyball players, Mahoney says girls try out knowing the team’s reputation and wanting to give the game a shot. “We call it ‘Volleyball Christmas’ every year in August, when we have our tryouts. This year, we had 85 girls tryout for volleyball. 66 of those girls stayed in program and finished the whole season,” Mahoney said. “We have great coaches here: C team, JV, all the way up. And we have a lot of fun. Win or lose, you gotta have a good time.”
Mt. Edgecumbe High School will hold a celebration for the team tonight at 7 p.m. in the B.J. McGillis Field House.
