The Mt. Edgecumbe High School Lady Braves volleyball team battled to the finals of the annual JIVE tournament in Juneau recently, but ultimately fell to the host Crimson Bears of Juneau-Douglas.
Along the way, the Lady Braves won games against Craig, Petersburg, Ketchikan and Cordova.
The Sitka High Lady Wolves also participated in the tournament, taking games off Cordova, Wrangell, Ketchikan and Craig on their way to a victory in the ``silver bracket.''
The hardest part of the weekend for the Edgecumbe squad may have been getting to Juneau. After leaving Sitka on the 6 a.m. flight Friday morning, the Lady Braves were diverted to Yakutat because of foul weather in the capitol. After refueling, the plane, which was carrying the Lady Braves in addition to the Sitka and Mt. Edgecumbe wrestling teams, flew to Anchorage.
The plane returned to Yakutat, stopped in Cordova and ulimately landed in Juneau around 7 p.m.
The Lady Braves then hopped on a bus to the gym at Juneau-Douglas. And after a rough day of travel, the Lady Braves beat Craig in two games.
``For just getting off the plane, we didn't look too bad,'' coach Rich Calkins said.
In their second match Friday night, the Lady Braves played the ``Juneau B'' team, which featured a mix of varsity and junior varsity players. Edgecumbe won the first game, but lost the second.
In pool play Saturday morning, Edgecumbe beat Cordova twice, and split a pair of games with Ketchikan, losing the second 27-25.
Cordova recently lost three of its top four hitters to disciplinary issues and the perennial 3A volleyball power had a tough weekend.
``They're young and inexperienced,'' Calkins said, though he noted that Cordova has another three weeks to get ready for the state tournament. Anchorage Christian School appears to be the top 3A team up north at this point, but Calkins is not counting Cordova out.
``They have a lot of history behind them,'' Calkins said.
In bracket play, Edgecumbe beat Juneau B, then downed Petersburg to advance to the finals.
Juneau-Douglas beat Mt. Edgecumbe 3-0 with the tournament on the line and Calkins called the defeat ``frustrating.''
The Braves led 19-9 in the first game, but Sarah Tarver led the Crimson Bears back as Juneau took a 20-19 lead. Edgecumbe recovered to go up 24-23. The Lady Braves served for the match, the ball landed out and Juneau took the first game.
Calkins said the Braves battled back in the next two games, but Juneau swept three games to seal the match.
Still, it was a solid weekend for the Edgecumbe team.
``We're happy,'' Calkins said. ``There were times when I saw us making big improvements. Our biggest challenge right now is to play consistently. In a tournament format, the key is to stay consistent.''
He said the Lady Braves have to avoid lulls where they give up several points in a row to their opponents.
``We have to make other teams earn their points,'' Calkins said. ``Focus is what it comes down to.''
Colby Howarth and Brenna Johanson made the all-tournament team for Mt. Edgecumbe.
Bessie Binkowski, Britley Calkins, Connie Melovidov, Whitney Weber, Christina Fields, Chelsea Wassily and Nicole Pingayak made the all-academic team at the tournament.