September 17th & 18th
Submitted by VHS JV Volleyball Coach
The Valdez Buccaneer JV volleyball team traveled north for the second time this season
to play against two familiar teams. Thursday night the Bucs played against the North Pole
Patriots for a best of 5 match. Having beat North Pole in a single set of 25-18 a couple weeks
ago at our home tournament, we were optimistic about facing them again, but knew it would not
be an easy feat. Our team started out shaky after the long day of travel, but were able to put up
a good fight as the night went on. Unfortunately, our team fell to the Patriots in 3 sets (13-25,
19-25 & 23-25).
On Friday and Saturday our Lady Bucs faced the Hutchison Hawks in Fairbanks for best
of 5 matches. Having beat Hutchison at the Monroe tournament a few weeks earlier, we knew
that our serves would be crucial to success since the Hawk’s serve receive was their biggest
downfall. Friday’s match was a confidence booster after the night before’s loss against North
Pole. Our Lady Bucs’ served up a storm and won in 3 quick sets (25-7, 25-12 & 25-7). The top
servers that night were Airoh Smelcer, Kristen Fitka and Amelia Alex. The next day was much
the same as our Bucs came on the court ready for action and gave the Hawks their best serves.
Averey Franklin, Madi Wesely and Kristen Fitka’s serves helped lead the team to another win in
that match (25-8, 25-7 & 25-15). Overall, the weekend’s games were a success as they gave us
opportunities to learn from. The Bucs should be proud of their unwillingness to give up against
the tough North Pole Patriots. They should also be proud of their serves, which is a team
strength. Next up, we head to the valley for a big tournament in Wasilla where we’ll face some
teams that we haven’t played yet this season.