About halfway through the second game of a Saturday morning match against the Seward Seahawks, the Homer Mariner volleyball team leading 11-3 after winning the first game 25-18 let their emotions spill out onto the court. When an exasperated and outmatched Seahawk team called a timeout to regroup, the Mariner girls laughed, chanted, exchanged high fives and even posed for pictures for a sideline photographer.

And why not? After struggling through a tough one-game loss on their home court to Kodiak the day before, the Homer girls were finally clicking as a team serving more accurately, racking up more kills and generally reacting to the ball with greater speed than their opponent.

Head Coach Beth Trowbridge had a smile on her face, too, but knew the Mariners needed to maintain their focus to make it past Seward and on to the next round.

"Don't let up," said Trowbridge during the timeout. "I want you to go hard at the net."

And go hard they did, dispatching Seward 25-18, 25-9.

Up next were the Kenai Kardinals, who gave Homer a run for their money, winning the first game before eventually falling 25-20, 21-25 and 9-15.

"Because the Seward match was not quite as intense, we came out kind of flat while Kenai came out aggressive," said Trowbridge. "We were struggling but were able to pull it together by game two. Kenai is really scrappy and they don't give up their strength is they never say die."

The third round of Saturday's Peninsula Challenge a single-elimination tournament hosted by the Mariners at their own Alice Witte Gymnasium would prove to be the end of the road for the Mariners, as they fell to Cordova 24-26, 18-25.

Trowbridge said Cordova the defending state 3A champions have a "built-in confidence" that the Mariners have not yet found.

"That really adds a lot to a team if they know they can win," said Trowbridge.

"Sometimes we have a hard time finding a sense of confidence and a winning mentality. We have to convince our players that they're good enough. I think they're definitely good enough to compete against these bigger schools when they play to their potential."

Lindsay Layland made the all-tournament team after recording 35 kills, 36 digs, 10 blocks and five service aces for the weekend.

The Kodiak Bears, who Trowbridge calls a "very strong" team capable of contending for a state championship in November, eventually won the Peninsula Challenge, beating Skyview in the final match, 19-25, 25-18, 25-23 and 27-25.

On Tuesday, the Mariners returned to their home court and lost a tight contest to rival Soldotna, 19-25, 22-25 and 22-25. The loss dropped their Northern Lights Conference record to 2-4, 3-4 overall.

After a Friday road match against Nikiski, the Mariners will have some fun on their home court Saturday at 7 p.m. when they face former Homer volleyball players in the 2008 "Play Like Crazy" alumni game an annual match played in honor of former Homer coach and 2008 Alaska High School Hall of Fame inductee Witte, who died in 1994.

Aaron Selbig can be reached at aaron.selbig@homernews.com.