Teams from Barrow, Hooper Bay, and Anchorage's Mountain City Christian Academy visited Bethel for a weekend of volleyball. The Annual Slamtastic Tournament is where junior varsity matches are best of three, and all varsity matches are best of five games.
In the end, Mountain City Christian Academy got first place in the junior varsity division. Bethel bested Hooper Bay and earned second place.
Barrow’s team dominated the varsity competition and was the top team at the tournament, beating out second place Mountain City Christian Academy and the third place Lady Warriors.
Bethel Head Coach Ryan Wheeler is in his fourth year with the girls volleyball team. “It’s just a good opportunity for our girls to play in front of the home crowd and show off all their hard work, things they’ve been doing all year,” he said.
Wheeler spoke highly of the Lady Warriors. “I think they represent the school and the community very, very well when we’re out and about, and we get a lot of compliments about how well they are kind of presenting themselves, and they’re just a great group of kids,” he said.
It was also Senior Night, and all of the seniors were recognized on the second evening of the tournament.
“We have seven of them. So it’s the last time they get to play here at home, and so it’s kind of emotional for them. Big time. They’ve meant a lot to the program,” Wheeler said.
Two of those seniors received the coveted “All Tournament” award. One of the recipients was Allie Alexie.
“I received the All Tournament team award, which is, like, the most standout players of the tournament. And this weekend was definitely a tough one for us. But we’re getting the experience before we head off to regions in two weeks. And I think this was very beneficial, especially against Barrow, being in our region,” said Alexie.
The 17-year-old is the varsity setter, and even though they’ve won only a handful of games, Alexie embraces the process.
“I think we’re definitely, like, we’re developing as we go. And it gets hard. But I know, deep down, like, we want to win, we need to keep working to win. And we want to go to state,” Alexie said.
Alexie also said that the team has a lot of fun during practice and competition, and that she will miss it when the season ends.
“It is definitely sad, because I’ve been playing volleyball my whole high school career, and I have an amazing team. And I’m happy to end it with them,” Alexie said.
Teammate Amber Chase also received the All Tournament award. The 17-year-old also reflected on her experience.
Chase said that she loves the team. "I’m so glad that I have this team for my senior year. It was so emotional. I’m about to cry just thinking about it. But I’m very thankful for all of the teammates I have for my senior year."
Chase has played volleyball competitively since seventh grade and she is proud of her team.
“I think we played as best as we could against Barrow. And I just feel like we played really well,” Chase said.
The Lady Warriors have four or five games left, depending on how well they do at the regional tournament in Nome. Their next match is against Redington on Thursday, Oct. 26.
