Homer, Soldotna notch volleyball wins

The host Homer volleyball notched a 3-0 Southcentral Conference victory over Nikiski last Tuesday.

The Mariners notched 25-14, 25-21 and 25-8 victories to improve to 5-1 in the league and 8-1 overall in nontournament play, while the Bulldogs fall to 1-4 in the league and 1-6 overall.

Nevaeh Diaz had seven aces and two blocks for Homer, while Zoe Adkins had five aces, Izze Dye had seven kills, Gracie Gummer had six kills and Brooke Shafer had 15 assists.

For the Bulldogs, Mckinlee Jeffreys had six digs, Rylee Ellis had six digs and Ariel VanZandt had five kills and two blocks.

Soldotna 3, Seward 1

The visiting Stars came back for a 9-25, 25-11, 25-20 and 25-22 victory over the Seahawks on Tuesday in nonconference play.

Soldotna is now 2-8 overall, while Seward is 3-3.

Stars coach Luke Baumer had not been with the team due to a positive COVID test. Baumer liked what he saw on the livestream from his squad.

“I messaged the team in our group chat and talked about how proud I am,” Baumer said. “That’s a huge deficit in Game 1. 9-25 is a tough pill to swallow.

“It’s one of those things where this team has gotten pretty resilient through the beginning of the season. They’re not unfamiliar with those types of situations, and they’re doing a good job finding a way out.”

Baumer said the team is working on figuring out what is going wrong point by point, and implementing solutions.

Chloe Armstrong paced the Stars with 12 kills, while Katelyn Morrison had eight. Baumer said Armstrong is doing a great job finding all the different spots on the court, while Morrison, a junior, is doing better and better in her first year at outside hitter.

Adarra Hagelund had seven blocks, while Nicole Dickinson had 25 assists. Baumer said Dickinson, a sophomore, is doing a great job filling in for senior Emma Brantley in nonconference contests. Brantley is managing an injury.

Aleena Zener had a career-high 28 digs, while Morrison and Zener each had two aces.

Finally, Baumer said assistants Drewe Zeek, Shay Zener and Dacia Cunningham did a great job filling in for him.