JDHS volleyball drops first two games at Nome

Juneau-Douglas High School volleyball player Leah Spargo practices on Aug. 23, 2017. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire.

Juneau-Douglas High School volleyball player Leah Spargo practices on Aug. 23, 2017. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire.

Juneau-Douglas High School volleyball will have to wait to get their first wins of the season as the Crimson Bears lost their first two games this weekend at Nome-Beltz High School.

JDHS lost 3-1 on Friday night and 3-2 Saturday afternoon. The Crimson Bears are still figuring out rotations in the early season, and in front of a rowdy home crowd in Nome — seemingly the whole town showed up for the games, senior Leah Spargo said — JDHS was outmatched.

“We’re still tyring to figure out exactly where everyone is going to be, we have a couple new players this year and they’re getting used to the whole rotation thing. But other than trying new stuff, I think the team did super, super well,” Spargo said.

Ball placement and fundamentals came through, Spargo said, but their success was inconsistent in their first matches.

“We have streaks of really strong passing, setting and hitting, just the whole thing, but sometimes we go down a little bit. … We just need to keep it at a constant level,” Spargo said.

On Friday, JDHS split their first two games with the Nanooks, but Nome-Beltz took the last two to win. Assistant Coach Dale Bontrager said home team jumped on the rusty visitors right away.

“They pretty much waxed us in the first game,” Bontrager said.

After shaking the first-game jitters off, JDHS then warmed up enough to take a game back.

“By the end of the second game, we were really getting them. We were playing a lot better defense, reading their hitters better,” Bontrager said.

But JDHS couldn’t sustain that success as Nome-Beltz took the next two games.

“We had some stretches of brilliance, and we had some stretches of not-brilliance. But through it all their energy is positive, they stayed up,” Bontrager said.

Juneau teams don’t normally travel to Nome. Both Bontrager and Spargo said the trip was a good opportunity to experience Alaska culture while sharpening their skills against a tough, defensive team. The team went for a tour of the town and viewed some muskox during the trip.

After taking next weekend off, JDHS will have a chance to record their first win at games against Sitka and Mount Edgecumbe High Schools on Sept. 8 and 9.

More in Sports

Kai Ciambor, a 2025 graduate of Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé, in action against West Anchorage during the ASAA Division I Soccer State Championships at Colony High School on May 30. Ciambor was selected the Gatorade Alaska Boys Soccer Player of the Year on Thursday. (Klas Stolpe / Juneau Empire)
Kai Ciambor named Gatorade Alaska Boys Soccer Player of the Year

Crimson Bears 2025 graduate earns top honor in high school sports.

Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé track and field coach Jesse Stringer, 2025 JDHS graduate Nick Iverson, JDHS sophomore to be Bella Connally, and JDHS assistant track and field coaches Jennifer Strumfeld and Tina Martin pose for a photo on Wednesday at the JDHS auxiliary gym after Iverson and Connally had school records noted. (Photo courtesy Chris Connally)
Crimson Bears Iverson, Connally place names on record wall

JDHS track and field stars new school records registered on high.

Grace Dumas approaches the finish of the East Glacier Trail Tangle on Tuesday. The 4.9-mile race follows part of Under Thunder Trail around East Glacier Trail and back. (Klas Stolpe / Juneau Empire)
Morely, Tanel top East Glacier Trail Tangle

Sprints, climbs, descents and bears overcome.

Stinky Rats’ Jason Norat is congratulated by teammates as he finishes the Seacoast Relay at the Eagle Beach State Park outer beach picnic shelter on Sunday, June 8, 2025. (Klas Stolpe / Juneau Empire)
Stinky Rats find burritos at Seacoast Relay

13 teams share in the spoils of winners’ bounty.

Male wood ducks have colorful plumage and do not share parental duties. (Photo courtesy of Kerry Howard)
On the Trails: Wood ducks

Wood ducks nest seasonally in forested areas across North America from coast… Continue reading

The Sitka Wolves baseball team celebrate their 7-0 win over the Service Cougars in the championship game Saturday of the 2025 ASAA/First National Bank Alaska DI Baseball State Tournament at Anchorage’s Mulchay Stadium. (Photo courtesy Heather Gluth)
Sitka Wolves are state baseball champions

Bryce Calhoun pitches one-hit title clincher.

The Sitka Wolves softball team pose for a championship photo after defeating Soldotna 16-13 in the championship game Saturday of the 2025 ASAA/First National Bank Alaska DII Softball State Tournament at Anchorage’s Cartee Fields. (Photo courtesy Sitka Softball)
Sitka Wolves softball repeat as Alaska state champions

Walk-off home run by junior Alina Lebahn clinches title.

Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé junior pitcher Hunter Carte (7) and freshman pitcher Micah Nelson (3) pose for a photo at the 2025 ASAA/First National Bank Alaska DI Baseball State Tournament at Anchorage’s Mulchay Stadium. (Photo courtesy JDHS baseball)
Crimson Bears finish sixth at state baseball tournament

JDHS falls to Dimond Lynx 10-7 in season’s final game

In this file photo Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé junior Brandon Casperson hits during a home game. The Crimson Bears will play in the fourth/sixth-place game Saturday in the ASAA/First National Bank Alaska DI Baseball State Championships at Anchorage’s Mulchay Stadium. (Klas Stolpe / Juneau Empire)
JDHS eliminates Wasilla from state baseball play

Crimson Bears earn Saturday’s fourth/sixth-place game.

Most Read