Soldotna fought back, winning a spectacular long point that brought the crowd to its feet but could not keep up with the surging Mariners.
Homer won the first game 25-14 and carried that momentum into game two, winning it 25-6.
The third game was closer with the score tied late. But a series of kills by Reba Temple at the net and hitting mistakes down the stretch allowed Homer to pull away 27-25.
The Mariners won the game despite playing without sophomore standout Lindsay Layland who sprained her ankle last week in practice.
Layland’s absence was evident on Friday night as the Mariners struggled in a three game loss to Skyview 14-25, 19-25 and 15-25.
Mariner head coach, Beth Trowbridge, said Skyview seems to be the team to beat in the south division of the Northern Lights Conference this year.
“I am not entirely sure what to blame our performance on (Friday), but we definitely did not have that relaxed focused intensity that has allowed us to be successful in the past,” Trowbridge said.
In stark contrast to Tuesday night’s winning performance, the Mariners had one of their worst games offensively both at the net and on serve.
“Skyview is a very smart team and picked on our open spots very effectively,” Trowbridge said.
“They also are a good serving team and challenged our passers with their spot serving.”
The Mariners travel to Valdez this weekend for two days of matches Friday and Saturday.
Ben Stuart can be reached at ben.stuart@homernews.com.
The Tuesday game was tied early 4-4 before the Mariners rallied off 12 straight points behind the stellar serving game and four aces of Taneeka Hansen to pull ahead.
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