Coaches for Chugiak and Eagle River High said they were pleased with their team's performances during last weekend's Dimond-Service Invitational Tournament.

(From front to back) Chugiak High School volleyball players Laila Hansen, April Labrecque and Krysten Labrecque dig a ball out of the net at the Dimond-Service Volleyball tournament at Dimond High Oct. 24. The Mustangs came in second. PHOTO BY DAN SHEPARD

First-year Eagle River High coach Katie Hulse said the weekend was a good one for the Wolves' varsity team, as well as the junior varsity team, which played in a similar tournament at Hanshew Middle School.

"We all had some wins this week - that felt great," she said Saturday.

During Friday's round-robin action, Hulse said Eagle River lost to host Dimond and Ketchikan, but split with Kenai, and defeated Seward, 2-0. Those results put the Wolves playing at Service on Saturday, where they defeated Seward and Homer, but lost to Grace Christian.

Hulse recognized the play of juniors Kristen Dulik and Emelia Crapo, with Dulik, the setter, assisting middle hitter Crapo for team-high numbers.

The Eagle River coach said that while the season had sported only one victory, against Bartlett earlier in the year, the team is playing their best volleyball now as the team enters the Cook Inlet Conference tournament beginning this weekend.

"Everyone's coming together as a team at the end of the season - that's nice," she said.

Chugiak High coach Kelly Kavanaugh had similar praise for his team following the Mustangs' four-game nonconference loss to Palmer Oct. 21 prior to the Dimond tournament.

"I think they saw (the loss) as a wake-up call," said Kavanaugh Sunday. "I think they took Palmer a little too lightly."

The Mustangs ratcheted up their level of play for the tournament, Kavanaugh said, going 8-0 in round-robin play Friday, sweeping opponents Anchorage Christian, Cordova, Soldotna and East. Cordova had bounced Chugiak in last year's tournament, reported the coach, while Soldotna had come into this year's tourney with an unblemished 14-0 record.

Saturday, Chugiak advanced to the championships with a 25-9, 25-10 win over Service and a pair of 28-26 wins over South.

"That was a battle against South," said the coach, as both teams took the games into extended session with superior net and defensive play.

Junior April Labreque punctuated the victory with two kills to close out the match in the second game.

The tournament finale pitted the Mustangs against the host Lynx with Dimond winning, 27-25, 18-25, 15-11.

"The girls played awesome both days," Kavanaugh said.

Seniors Robyn Burton and Kasey Kavanaugh were named to the 13-member All-Tournament team.

The Mustangs closed out their regular season hosting Eagle River in Chugiak's annual "senior night" game Tuesday.

Chugiak has six seniors on this year's team, including Kavanaugh, Burton, Christine Henie, Jessica Eicher, Julie Albright and Emily Watzke.

Coach Kavanaugh said that Watzke stood out for the Mustangs in the title game.

"She was great on both offense and defense - solid all the way around," he said.

Chugiak and Eagle River head into the Cook Inlet Conference tournament Wednesday through Nov. 7, at Service, and are likely to be first-round opponents.

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