Six girls varsity volleyball teams competed in three days of play in the 2005 Nikolaevsk Volleyball Tournament last week. Players from Tok, Unalaska, Seldovia, Ninilchik, Cook Inlet Academy and Nikolaevsk challenged each other to some tough matches resulting in Ninilchik taking first in the tournament and Tok in second after losing to Ninilchik in a head-to-head tie-breaking game. Nikolaevsk, the host team, claimed third, Seldovia and Unalaska tied for fourth, and Cook Inlet Academy took fifth place.

“There were 64 players here,” said Nikolaevsk Coach Bea Klaich of the tournament. Three teams — Seldovia, Unalaska and Tok — overnighted in the village. Ninilchik and Cook Inlet Academy players commuted each day to participate in the tournament.

In the tournament’s third year, Klaich said her team did the best it’s ever done, with 12 of the high school’s 15 girls on the team.

Ten players were voted to the all-tournament team: Angela Singh, Ninilchik; Alexandra Gordeev, Nikolaevsk; Jennifer Giles, Seldovia; Jenna Weisz, Tok; Disney Williams, Unalaska; Emily Gingue, Tok; Olivia Tipikin, Nikolaevsk, Charley Michal, Cook Inlet Academy; Molly Chapman, Seldovia, and Lekonida Yakunin, Nikolaevsk.

The Sportsmanship Award, voted on by all the officials and coaches, was a three-way tie between the Tok Wolverines, Unalaska Raiders and Nikolaevsk Warriors. At the award ceremony on Saturday, all three teams were recognized and then Jalee Martushev, a 5-year-old Nikolaevsk kindergarten student, pulled Tok Wolverines out of the hat as the team to take home the trophy.