Hoonah takes third place at state tourney

For the first time in four years, the Hoonah Braves didn't finish second in the Class 1A-2A-3A (West) state volleyball tournament.

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But the Braves didn't win the tournament held this weekend at Anchorage's Dimond High School.

For just the third time in the eight-year history of the small-schools state tournament, the Hoonah Braves didn't make the championship match. Instead, Hoonah lost to eventual champion Barrow in Friday's semifinals, then the Braves had to beat Nome-Beltz in five games on Saturday to salvage a third-place finish.

The Braves were swept by Barrow, 25-22, 25-15, 25-17, in Friday's semifinals to end a streak of three straight second-place finishes. The Whalers went on to sweep Dillingham, 25-12, 27-25, 25-23, in Saturday's championship match.

On Saturday, Hoonah beat the Nome-Beltz Nanooks, 21-25, 25-20, 25-23, 20-25, 15-7, to claim third place. Tok swept Ninilchik 25-23, 27-25, 25-23 in Saturday's fourth-place match.

The only other Southeast team in the Class 1A-2A-3A (West) state tournament was Klawock, which was eliminated by Ninilchik, 25-17, 26-24, 25-21, in Friday's consolation round.

While Hoonah lost out on a bid for its second state title, the 1998 state champion Braves did have two players - Amy Wright and Cassandra Peters - make the all-tournament team. None of the Chieftains made the all-tournament team.

In the coed mixed-six state tournament that also took place at Dimond this weekend, the Gustavus Foxes were eliminated in Friday's consolation round. Gustavus lost to Galena 25-16, 20-25, 24-26, 26-24, 15-11 on Friday. The Foxes did place Aaron Kearns on the all-tournament team, and Gustavus won the team sportsmanship award.

The mixed-six title went to Port Lions, which needed five games to beat Selawik on Saturday, 12-25, 26-24, 23-25, 25-20, 15-8. Marshall took third place with a 25-18, 25-6, 25-17 sweep over Mountain Village, while Galena beat Shishmaref 25-23, 26-24, 22-25, 25-22 in the fourth-place match.