Juneau-Douglas’ Paige Adams, center, celebrates a point with her teammates against Thunder Mountain during the Region V Volleyball Tournament at Thunder Mountain High School on Friday, Nov. 8, 2019. JDHS won 3-0 (25-22, 26-24, 25-20). (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire File)

Juneau-Douglas’ Paige Adams, center, celebrates a point with her teammates against Thunder Mountain during the Region V Volleyball Tournament at Thunder Mountain High School on Friday, Nov. 8, 2019. JDHS won 3-0 (25-22, 26-24, 25-20). (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire File)

‘We just wanted to prove everybody wrong’: JDHS upsets Thunder Mountain for Region V title

Next stop: state.

After a one-year hiatus, the Juneau-Douglas: Yadaat.at Kalé volleyball team will return to the state tournament — a trip they’ve made over 20 times — after upsetting reigning region champion Thunder Mountain High School.

The Crimson Bears defeated the Falcons 30-24 in the Region V 4A championship tiebreaker match on Saturday night at TMHS.

JDHS defeated their crosstown rivals in that single-set match immediately following a 3-1 (25-20, 25-20, 17-25, 25-19) loss to the Falcons. However, thanks to their semifinals win on Friday over TMHS, which snapped a six-game losing streak, the Crimson Bears were given a second shot at the championship in the form of the 30-point tiebreaker.

Senior Addie Prussing had two aces and junior Jojo Griggs had six kills, including the championship-clinching point. Prussing had seven aces, and Griggs had 13 kills in the prior match.

“All season we’ve been saying that we’re going to peak right at the perfect time and did,” Prussing said. “We pushed and we played hard.”

[See photos of the action here]

Tasi Fenumiai, Avery Kreischer and Lily Smith had three kills apiece for the Falcons. In the first match, Fenumiai had 12 kills, junior Sophia Harvey had nine kills and senior Bridget Gehring had 22 digs.

“We did our job today — we didn’t win — but we did our job,” TMHS coach Julie Herman said. “We wanted that first match and we wanted them to have to beat us well, in 30, and we took them high into the 20s on that last set, and so I feel really good about that game. I really do.”

After TMHS tied the match at 10-10, Prussing, Griggs, Brooke Sanford, Merry Newman and Jenae Pusich went to work, each recording kills in 9-3 run.

Sanford, a sophomore, said Friday’s semifinal win was a huge confidence booster. TMHS swept the season series between the two sides and twice upended the Crimson Bears in the JIVE Tournament last month.

“We just knew that this was the only time that mattered, this was the only game that mattered,” Sanford said. “So we knew we had to put everything we had into the last game. So I think that helped a lot knowing that this was it, this was our last game against them.”

The Crimson Bears were without Griggs for the big win on Friday and much of the last month after an upper-body muscle strain. JDHS relied heavily on junior Kiana Potter in Griggs’ absence. Potter became the Crimson Bears’ go-to setter, a role she seemed to embrace.

“Kiana really stepped up her game the last couple of weeks when we needed her to,” JDHS coach Jody Levernier said. “She did a phenomenal job. She really, really played well the last couple weeks, the best I’ve seen her play all season.”

Potter said it was daunting having several teammates go down with injuries.

“And then last night we played Thunder Mountain and winning that game in three (sets), that was what we needed to figure out that we can do this, we got this,” Potter said. “And then Jojo comes back and has the game of her life. So we had it in us all along, and we just wanted to prove everybody wrong who didn’t believe in us.”

The state tournament starts Thursday at the Alaska Airlines Center in Anchorage. The Crimson Bears last appeared in the event two years ago, when they went 1-2 to finish fifth.

2019 Region V Volleyball Tournament

Thunder Mountain High School

Thursday

Quarterfinals: JDHS def. Ketchikan 3-1 (25-8, 25-14, 14-25, 25-15)

Friday

Semifinals: JDHS def. TMHS 3-0 (25-22, 26-24, 25-20)

Loser-out semifinals: TMHS def. Ketchikan 3-0 (25-8, 25-14, 25-13)

Saturday

Championship*: TMHS def. JDHS 3-1 (25-20, 25-20, 17-25, 25-19)

Championship tiebreaker: JDHS def. TMHS 30-24

*A JDHS loss forces a 30-point tiebreaker for the Region V championship.

All-Conference Team

Jojo Griggs (JDHS), Sophia Harvey (TMHS), Addie Prussing (JDHS), Mady Purcell (Ketchikan), Bridget Gehring (TMHS), Mariah Tanuvasa-Tuvaifale (TMHS).

^

Region V Volleyball 4A Champions (1973-2019)

1973 — Mt. Edgecumbe; 1974 — Mt. Edgecumbe; 1975 — Ketchikan; 1976 —Ketchikan; 1977 — Hoonah; 1978 — Hoonah; 1979— Sitka; 1980 — Juneau-Douglas; 1981 —Sitka; 1982 — Sitka; 1983 — Ketchikan; 1984 — Juneau-Douglas; 1985 — Juneau-Douglas; 1986 — Sitka; 1987 — Sitka; 1988 — Juneau-Douglas; 1989 — Juneau-Douglas; 1990 — Juneau-Douglas; 1991 — Juneau-Douglas; 1992 — Juneau-Douglas; 1993 — Sitka; 1994 — Sitka; 1995 — Juneau-Douglas; 1996 — Juneau-Douglas; 1997 — Juneau-Douglas; 1998 — Juneau-Douglas; 1999 — Juneau-Douglas; 2000 — Juneau-Douglas; 2002 — Juneau-Douglas; 2001 —Juneau-Douglas; 2003 — Juneau-Douglas; 2004 — Juneau-Douglas; 2005 — Juneau-Douglas; 2006 — Juneau-Douglas; 2007 — Juneau-Douglas; 2008 — Juneau-Douglas; 2009 — Juneau-Douglas; 2010 — Juneau-Douglas; 2011 — Juneau-Douglas; 2012 — Juneau-Douglas; 2013 — Juneau-Douglas; 2014 — Juneau-Douglas; 2015 — Ketchikan; 2016 — Juneau-Douglas; 2017 — Juneau-Douglas; 2018 — Thunder Mountain; 2019 — Juneau-Douglas.


• Contact sports reporter Nolin Ainsworth at 523-2272 or nainsworth@juneauempire.com.


More in Sports

The Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé Crimson Bears hockey team are shown at the 2025 ASAA Division II Hockey State Championships in Soldotna. (Photo courtesy JDHS hockey)
Crimson Bears hockey place third on state ice

Juneau-Douglas gets revenge win over Kenai

Wasilla junior Katie Jackson drives and passes around Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé seniors Cailynn Baxter and Addison Wilson (10) during the Warriors’ 65-34 win Friday over the Crimson Bears in the George Houston Gymnasium. (Klas Stolpe / Juneau Empire)
Wasilla girls storm Juneau-Douglas home court

Warriors down Crimson Bears in George Houston Gymnasium

In this file photo Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé senior Dylan Sowa (35) is congratulated on a scoring goal by senior captain Luke Bovitz (4) during senior night weekend against Kenai. Sowa had two goals Friday in the Crimson Bears’ 5-2 loss to Palmer at the 2025 ASAA Division II Hockey State Tournament in Soldotna. JDHS will face Kenai in the 3rd/5th-place game Saturday. (Klas Stolpe / Juneau Empire)
Moose push Crimson Bears aside 5-2 in state semifinals

Palmer will play for title, JDHS for third at state hockey tournament.

Snow is also a four letter word with more than one proper use. (Klas Stolpe / Juneau Empire)
Pure Sole: WTF with the F word

The F word. F… U… and no need for that third and… Continue reading

Jessica Larsen of the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute describes her research on Alaska’s Mount Churchill at the Fall Meeting of the American Geophysical Union on Dec. 9, 2024. (Photo by Ned Rozell)
Alaska Science Forum: The threat within an Alaska mountain

Mount Churchill stands in a white corner of the Alaska map, deceptive… Continue reading

Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé senior Dylan Sowa (35) beats Bartlett senior Wyatt Rust (13) in a faceoff earlier this season. Sowa scored four goals in Thursday’s 5-4 extra-time win over the Houston Hawks to open the 2025 ASAA Division II Hockey State Tournament at Soldotna. (Klas Stolpe / Juneau Empire file photo)
Crimson Bears open postseason by devouring Hawks on extra-time ice

Sowa wears big hat for sixth-seed JDHS in win against third-seed Houston at state hockey tournament.

Wasilla’s Layla Hays blocks a Colony shot in the Warriors win over the Knights in last season’s state title game. Hays, a senior, and her number-one ranked Warriors play JDHS inside the George Houston Gymnasium on Friday and Saturday. (Klas Stolpe / Juneau Empire file photo)
Sports on tap for this week feature current and future state champs

Sports fans living in Juneau, or visiting, will be treated to a… Continue reading

Glacier Swim Club athletes Valerie Peimann, Emma Fellman, Pacific Ricke, Lily Francis and Lucia Chapell dress for the cool pool weather at the 2025 Alaska Senior Championships in Soldotna last weekend. (Photo courtesy GSC)
Peimann, Fellman lead GSC at Alaska Senior Championships

Glacier Swim Club brings 11 swimmers to Soldotna meet, set club record.

Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé Nordic Ski Team and community cross-country skiers start the Shaky Shakeout Invitational six-kilometer freestyle mass start race Saturday at Eaglecrest Ski Area. (Klas Stolpe / Juneau Empire)
Crimson Bears cross-country skiers in sync

JDHS Nordic Ski Team tunes up for state with practice race

Most Read