JDHS ready for annual JIVE tourney

After enjoying a rare weekend off, the Juneau-Douglas High School volleyball team goes back to work this weekend by hosting the 14th annual Juneau Invitational Volleyball Extravaganza.

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This year's version of the JIVE tournament is one of the biggest ever, with 12 teams from Alaska and Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, descending on Juneau. The tournament starts at 3 p.m. today and 9 a.m. Saturday.

"They've come back and they're looking good," JDHS coach Sandi Wagner said. "We were focused last week on defense and our focus this week has been offense. It's looking good. But practice is one thing, it's when you get into a game that counts."

The tournament features Southeast rivals Craig, Hoonah, Sitka, Ketchikan, Wrangell and Mt. Edgecumbe.

Porter Creek and Vanier are making the trip from Whitehorse to Juneau, while Colony and Chugiak are flying down from northern Alaska. The Colony Knights, from the Mat-Su valleys, topped the Crimson Bears in the third-fifth place game of last year's state tournament.

It'll be a long two days for the Crimson Bears as they may play 15 matches in two days.

Wagner listed consistent play and being able to perform no matter what's happening in the surrounding gym as goals for her team this weekend.

"The kids are excited," Wagner said. "We get to play against different competition. It's an opportunity to play different people and see different offenses and defenses."

After spending last week working on a quick defense, the Crimson Bears switched gears and worked on their offense during practice this week.

"We've been working on a lot of defense because when we go up north we'll probably see a little quicker offense," JDHS outside hitter Sarah Christianson said. "But I think this week were working on our offense more, making our offense quicker. Our middles have been working a lot with the setters specifically to run quicker sets."

JDHS setter Torie Powers continues to heal from an ankle injury suffered during the Crimson Bears' three-day trip to Washington in mid-September and will see limited action this weekend.

Setters Rochele Rodman has filled in admirably in Powers' absence, however, and the senior-laden Bears haven't missed a beat this season.

"It's pretty much been the same team for the last three years," Christianson said. "We've only lost a couple of players in the last three years. We're pretty close and we know how each person plays on our team. So we can use our strengths and try to avoid our weaknesses."

While the team continues to work on their tactical offense and defense, Juneau-Douglas also has improved its mental toughness.

The Crimson Bears found the confidence and strength to fight through injuries and fatigue during the Washington trip.

During that execursion, the Crimson Bears battled a number of large schools in the northwest and refused to back down.

In this weekend's JIVE tournament, Juneau-Douglas gets another chance to show its inner strength in a competitve situation.

"In the last two years, we got fifth in state each time and we got really close game where we could've gotten third easily but it just wasn't in our favor," Christianson said. "But this year, I know personally, I'm a lot more confident because we went down south, played good teams we've never played against and we played even with them without one of our settters and with a lot of other injuries and fatigue."

• Tim Nichols, sports editor, can be reached at sports@juneauempire.com.