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The Mt. Edgecumbe volleyball team topped Sitka in three straight games Wednesday night as the Lady Braves moved to 10-0 on the season.
Playing in front of a packed house on the night Sitka High honored its seniors, the visiting Lady Braves fell behind early in the first game, but recovered to sweep the Lady Wolves.
``I'm really proud of the fact they didn't panic,'' MEHS coach Rich Calkins said. ``Eventually they started doing the things we've asked them to do.''
The Lady Wolves took an early lead on Mt. Edgecumbe. Sitka, playing perhaps its best defense of the season against the powerful Edgecumbe attack, went up 14-8 and led 15-11 before the Braves started to make their run. There were several long volleys in the game, which featured some of the best volleyball local crowds have seen all season.
Edgecumbe tied the game 16-16 on a spike by Christina Fields, a junior from Kotzebue, and took its first lead at 17-16. Down 20-16, Sitka High coach AmyJo Sparrowgrove took a timeout, and after the break Michelle Dumag responded with a kill that moved Sitka to within three at 20-17.
Edgecumbe answered with four straight points to go up 24-17 and closed out the game at 25-18. Behind strong play from Fields, who patrolled the middle net for Edgecumbe, the Lady Braves went on win the next two games 25-13 and 25-8 to take the match.
It was the final match of the regular season for Sitka, and the loss dropped the Wolves to 9-3 on the season. Sitka lost twice to Mt. Edgecumbe and split two matches with Craig in 2009. They also beat Haines, Wrangell, Metlakatla and Petersburg twice each.
Mt. Edgecumbe has two games remaining in the regular season, with Petersburg set to travel here next week for a pair of matches.
Edgecumbe has been the class of 3A volleyball in Southeast for the better part of three years now and the Lady Braves, barring a major upset, are in line for their third straight Region V title.
After that, it will be on to the postseason for the Lady Braves.
Mt. Edgecumbe was deep and talented in 2008, but graduation cost Calkins and his coaching staff nine seniors.
This year, the roster is mostly rebuilt. But the Lady Braves have made strides in 2009, and appear to be peaking at the right time.
Seniors Britley Calkins, Bessie Binkowski and Connie Melovidov have been solid this year, and a recent lineup shift has Fields playing her best volleyball of the season.
For the first time this season, Fields played in the middle Wednesday night and she led the attack for Mt. Edgecumbe.
Prior to last night, Fields had been playing on the outside for Edgecumbe. But during a recent practice, Calkins moved Fields to the center, to fill a hole left by the absence of another Edgecumbe player.
It was a happy accident, and Fields is likely to close out the season in the middle for Edgecumbe.
``She's got a spot there for a while,'' Calkins said.
The coached added: ``Our goal is to be better at the end of the season than we were at the beginning. We've definitely done that.''