Thunder Mountain High School won the first crosstown game with neighbor Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaat.at Kalé on Friday night in the Thunderdome.
Junior Sophia Harvey posted a team-high 14 kills and four blocks for the Falcons, whose 3-1 (25-10, 25-14, 26-28, 25-17) victory on their home court maintained an unblemished 7-0 mark in Southeast play. Thunder Mountain (7-1, 5-0 Southeast), which swept weekend competitions against Sitka and Ketchikan in September, play the Crimson Bears (7-2, 2-1 Southeast) again on Saturday at 7 p.m at JDHS.
[Photos: See the Falcons fly high in crosstown match]
“The defense is playing incredibly well, they are passing in the target area, then we can run all three to five options that we want to which is why our offense is pretty lethal,” TMHS coach Julie Herman said.
Thunder Mountain’s Mariah Tanuvasa-Tuvaifale, center, spikes the ball between Juneau-Douglas’ Jojo Griggs, left, and Addie Prussing at Thunder Mountain High School on Friday, Oct. 4, 2019. TMHS won 3-1. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)
That offense roared to life midway through the first set. The Falcons finished the opening set on a 13-1 run, maintaining momentum even after the Crimson Bears took a timeout down 18-9. The JDHS student section stood up in unison and began to chant for the visitors in the second set, but the home team didn’t veer off course. When Crimson Bear Brooke Sanford’s kill brought JDHS within 11-6, the Falcons won three points in a row and never looked back.
JDHS mustered a third-set win — hanging on after giving up six straight points after leading 24-18 — before losing the fourth and final set.
Juneau-Douglas’ Addie Prussing, right, attempts a block against Thunder Mountain’s Sophia Harvey at Thunder Mountain High School on Friday, Oct. 4, 2019. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)
Falcons setter and right-side hitter Mariah Tanuvasa recorded a team-high 22 assists and 23 digs, and middle hitter Lily Smith had four aces.
JDHS will host Thunder Mountain and 10 other varsity and junior varsity teams next weekend for the JIVE Tournament.
JDHS came into Friday’s match with weekend sweeps over Ketchikan, Sitka and Petersburg.
Thunder Mountain’s Amy Schoonover, right, spikes the ball against Juneau-Douglas’ Jojo Griggs at Thunder Mountain High School on Friday, Oct. 4, 2019. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)
• Contact sports reporter Nolin Ainsworth at 523-2272 or nainsworth@juneauempire.com.
