South Anchorage HS outlasts Dimond in if-necessary set for 4A state title
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — A day full of musical merriment – boogieing and what not – ended with all the South Wolverines falling to the floor.
It was just the way senior Tracy Rasavong and her teammates wanted it to go – in a joyous pile of state volleyball champions near center court of the Alaska Airlines Center.
South turned in an undeniably excellent performance Saturday and claimed back-to-back Class 4A titles. After placing third in the Cook Inlet Conference and winning three matches in the loser’s bracket, the Wolverines stunned archrival Dimond – twice. They scored a 25-19, 23-25, 25-11, 25-19 win in the initial match with the Lynx and then delivered the knockout with a strong 30-24 “if necessary” set victory.
“OK, this is the secret,” Rasavong said after delivering a 48-assist performance. “In the locker room, we dance around, we talk really loud and just sing our hearts out – just some hype music.
“This whole thing feels amazing.”
Rasavong, hitting machine senior Hannah Henrie, senior Elizabeth Johnson and South claimed the school’s eighth championship since arriving on the scene in 2005, and second under sixth-year coach Amy Mestas. The Wolverines also handed often-dominant Dimond just its second match loss in the final 19 outings of the season.
“We were third in CIC, every match was close and we came out (Thursday) at state and really played horribly,” Mestas said. “The girls really had to dig deep. We had nine seniors and there is really something to be said for that.”
Henrie wowed from the start of the evening and finished with 35 kills. She scored hammering hit after hit in the decisive 30-point “if necessary” set.
“Hannah Henrie has been that girl since our freshman year,” Rasavong said. “We all have trust in her and she trusts us too.”
Dimond dropped only three sets in the first two days of the three-day, eight-team tournament. South kept the Lynx, without senior setter Kayla Pili because of COVID-19 protocols, off kilter for much of the match.
“I don’t think we had the confidence we needed,” said Dimond senior Dayna Drury. “Having our setter out was huge, but the scared part of not wanting to lose and the fear of letting someone else down was also huge.
“We wanted it really badly, but South did a great job.”
Editor’s Note: Since the publication of this story, Hannah Henrie was named Alaska’s State Gatorade Player of the Year.
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