Aug 19, 2022
Courtesy of VHS Coaches – This past weekend the Junior Varsity Buccaneer Volleyball team earned 3rd place in the Monroe Invite Tournament. I’ll open with player shout outs: our powerhouse servers for the weekend were Jamie Rupert with 42, Raina Wells with 39, and Savannah Barton with 37. Killin’ it at the net we had Mariah Dunning with 25 attacks and 17 kills and Wells with 20 attacks and 10 kills. Jazlyn Gallatin hustled 11 attacks and 5 kills and Elaine Gilson earned 13 attacks and her first season kill. Huge congratulations to Raina Wells for making the Monroe Invite All-Tournament team!
The event commenced on Friday afternoon where seven teams faced off in a series of single set games during the opening pool play. Present at the invite were Lathrop, North Pole, West Valley, Delta, Hutchison, and the hometeam Monroe Rams.
The Valdez Bucs came out swinging in their first set against the North Pole Patriots winning 20-13. Starting on the court for the Bucs were Jamie Rupert, Raina Wells, Mariah Dunning (playing front row for Savannah Barton), Savanah Pruitt (playing front row for Hali Fitka), Jazlyn Gallatin, and Elaine Gilson. The team played with great energy and control and ended the set full of confidence and excitement. In our next set facing the Delta Huskies, Cercei Strickland checked in to play front row middle hitter and blocker while Jezelle Eskillida checked in to play as a right side hitter and blocker. During her time on the court, Eskillida made her first right side attack of her high school career! The Bucs made a strong finish of their Delta set, winning 20-16. The third set of the night was against the Monroe Rams who came out as a foundationally strong opponent. The Bucs continued to control the flow of the game by throwing 14 attacks against the Rams (their highest offensive set of the night) and won 20-16. The final set of the evening was against the West Valley Wolves. In this set the Bucs serving was strong, but they struggled with communication and ball control suffering many dropped balls and over passes to the other team. Both Wells and Gallatin made great saves at various points in the set, but the game ended with the Wolves on top 15-20. The result of the first night of play seated the Bucs as #2 for the Saturday tournament bracket.
The first match of Saturday morning was against the Lathrop Malemutes. The Bucs exchanged points back and forth in the first set of the match, making it a nail biter. In the middle of the set, Rupert saved the ball from a Malemute tip and Pruitt stepped in to take the second set for her team. The final score settled at 21-19 for the Bucs. The next set was a lot more controlled. Strickland made a couple passing plays and attacks at the net, along with Eskilida. The Bucs won the set and match 20-15.
The Bucs won their next match against the Monroe Rams, but not without a fight. The Bucs won the first set 20-16. The Rams responded in force and beat the Bucs 19-21. The final set sealed the victory for the Bucs with a 15-9 victory. Elaine Gilson showed up with her high pressure serving and walked the Bucs into a win with 7 straight serves.
Saturday game 3 the Bucs face once again the Patriots. The first set was a battle that went into overtime with the Bucs barely winning 21-19. The Patriots did not give up. They came back fired up in set two to win 15-20, and then cleaned up the match with a painful Buccaneer loss of 5-15. The Bucs hoped to face the Patriots once again by fighting back up through the losers’ bracket. We faced West Valley, winning the first set 20-16, but losing the next two sets by a few small points 17-20 and 13-15, and also losing our opportunity to step into the championship game.
Overall the weekend was a huge success. We had so much growth in just one week of practice. Many coaches came up to me to compliment the team on their playing. Thank you to the Buc fans that came out to cheer! We are looking forward to facing the Eielson Ravens this coming Friday in our hometown gym! Come out to support the Bucs!