Thunder Mountain High School's Hannah Wilwert chips a shot over the net Friday against Skagway during the All-Comers Volleyball Tournament at TMHS.
Thunder Mountain High School's Jeslie Villaverde digs up a serve against Skagway Friday evening during the All-Comers Volleyball Tournament at TMHS.
Thunder Mountain High School's Kendra Wittwer puts a block up over the net Friday against Skagway during the All-Comers Volleyball Tournament at TMHS.
Story last updated at 10/25/2009 - 3:18 am
Thunder Mountain High school was the center of Southeast volleyball universe this weekend as 10 schools met in Juneau for the All Comers Tournament. The event included teams from Juneau, Klawock, Petersburg, Sitka, Haines, Skagway, Thorne Bay and Mount Edgecumbe.
The TMHS Falcons varsity girls finished 7-5 in pool play on Friday and Saturday and advanced to the 'A' bracket tournament on Saturday. In match play, the Falcons were eliminated from the tournament by the Klawock Chieftains, a smaller 2-A school.
The Falcons won the first game 25-20, but the Chieftains won the next two games to advance and bump the Falcons out of the tournament. Klawock had to rally from behind in the second game, and once they got the momentum, they never looked back. Klawock won the second game 25-20, then the tie-breaker by a score of 15-11.
TMHS athletic director Rhonda Hickock said it was the school's first experience hosting a large tournament. In previous years, Juneau-Douglas High School had hosted this tournament.
The tournament was a chance for JV and C teams from larger schools to play against varsity teams from smaller schools. The tournament included a total of 21 teams that were divided into A, B and C groups based on school size and level of play. Each team played 12 games before advancing on to three separate tournament brackets on Saturday.
The Falcons have a 1-9 record in match play this year, but Coach Adriana Rodriguez said her team is improving with every game.
"Last weekend, the thing we saw improve was reading the hits and getting better position for defense," she said. "They are working and really moving and communicating. Every player has improved greatly throughout the season."
Rodriguez said the Falcons will lose only one player after graduation and will return most of their starting players.
"We have a lot to look forward to for next season," she said.
Klawock's coach Kelli Larson said her team finished second at state last year and won a Sitka small schools tournament earlier this month.
The Falcons will close out the regular season against JDHS next weekend, then travel to Sitka the following weekend for the regional tournament. When the two teams meet next weekend, freshman Kaitilin Tarver will have another chance to play against her older sister, Sarah Tarver of Juneau-Douglas.
"I'm pretty excited but I don't know how the ride home in the car is going to be," said Kaitilin about their upcoming match.
The Bears are heavily favored to win next weekend, but the younger Tarver said. "It doesn't change the competition between us."
Saturday's festivities included a lunch-time spaghetti feed for 160 players, coaches and family members. Food was provided for the large group by family members of the home team.
Saturday also was senior night for the lone Falcons senior, Hannah Wilwert. However, Falcons players decided to extend some Juneau hospitality by honoring visiting seniors and making 30 large candy necklaces for them. Falcons captain Jordan Jeans came up with the idea and recruited her teammates to help.
"We had most of the girls help," she said. "It was a team-bonding experience."
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