Coming off one of their best seasons in recent memory, the Lady Mariner Volleyball team will be hosting the region championships this weekend for the first time since 2016. Homer enters the tournament with a 27-11 record overall, and 8-2 in conference.
The Lady Mariners will face off against the Houston Hawks at 3:15 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 5. The tournament runs through Saturday.
Homer’s success has resulted in part from a group of talented seniors and an experienced new coach, Kip Yoshimura, who was recruited this year to come to Homer by team parents.
Homer started the season with four straight wins, lost to the Nikiski Bulldogs 3-1, then went on another eight game winning streak.
The team hit a rough patch, though, after Homecoming Weekend, when a number of players were suspended from the team for a handbook rules violation. It was a busy tournament week, and Homer lost six of their 11 games.
Once they were back at full strength, the Mariners returned to their winning ways with four straight victories before falling to Soldotna. Homer has beaten Soldotna twice since then, along with Kenai, West Valley, and the Anchorage schools Service and Bartlett. Their later losses were to Monroe Catholic, South Anchorage and Palmer.
To wrap up the regular season, the Lady Mariners won their final two games against Soldotna and Redington.
The team’s top performers include Alysha Nyvall, with over 1500 assists, who is ranked as the No. 1 setter in Alaska.
Piper Fuchs has also accomplished a big feat with over 1000 digs.
Reilly Sue Baker and Swift Blackstock are ranked No. 4 and No. 5 in Alaska for hitters with an average of 3.9 and 3.7 kills per set.
“Every single one of our hitters are outstanding. I am just so excited! It’s going to be a great week! It’s a great time to be a Mariner,” said team parent Keriann Baker.
Teams appearing at the tournament in Homer this weekend will be Grace Christian, Seward, Houston, Mountain City Christian Academy, Kenai, Nikiski and Redington.
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