The Thunder Mountain High School girls volleyball team is headed to the state championship in Anchorage this week, and coach Julie Herman is feeling confident.
“We have been fortunate to play quite a few of these teams up north, we have beat a couple of them,” Herman said in a phone interview Monday. “We feel pretty competitive under the bracket.”
The Lady Falcons just won the Region V tournament held in Ketchikan over the weekend, Herman said, following a season with a 70% win ratio. The Falcons had 17 wins, 7 losses and one tie, Herman said, and were 8-2 eight in the league.
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Herman said this group of girls was really well connected and were close off the court as well.
“The girls like to be together and one of the things they like to do is play volleyball,” Herman said.
Three of the team’s players were voted All-Conference for Region V, Herman said, Seniors Sydney Strong, an outside hitter, and Molly Brocious, a setter, and junior setter Moana Tuvaifale, were voted among the top six in their conference.
The state championship will feature eight teams from around the state, Herman said, and the Lady Falcons will have their first game against Palmer High School on Thursday, Nov. 11, at 3:15 p.m. Herman said she felt confident in her team’s abilities but noted losses to Anchorage’s Dimond High School and South Anchorage High School, both of which are in the tournament.
“We’re proud and pleased,” Herman said. “There’s a lot of exciting things to watch this next weekend.”
• Contact reporter Peter Segall at psegall@juneauempire.com. Follow him on Twitter at @SegallJnuEmpire.
