Day 1 of the ASAA Class 4A state volleyball tournament featured a changing of the guard as Chugiak and Colony knocked off perennial Anchorage powers South and Dimond on Thursday in the double-elimination championships.

Chugiak’s big day started with a five-set win over South followed by a sweep of Service, while Colony kicked off its day by sweeping Lathrop and before holding off Dimond in four sets in the nightcap at the Alaska Airlines Center.

Chugiak snapped South’s 31-match, two-month unbeaten streak after pulling off a 25-22, 17-25, 25-19, 17-25, 15-13 victory. It was the first time the Mustangs had beaten South since 2022, breaking a 12-match losing streak in the series.

On paper, it was a surprise; but the Mustangs have been building towards this moment all season. They pushed South to five sets in September, beat Dimond at the Cook Inlet Conference Championships for the first time in two years and came into the state tournament playing at an elite level.

They trailed 13-12 in the decisive fifth set against South before rattling off the next three points on Natalie Horn’s kill, a South attack error and Audrey Parks’ kill on match point.

Tied 10-10, Chugiak’s Catheryn Townsend crushed a kill, and two points later scored on a solo block to end a rally that was extended by Oliviya Rodriguez’s pancake dig.

South outscored Chugiak 104-99 in the match, but the Mustangs won more pivotal points.

4A State Volleyball

ASAA/First National Bank
At Alaska Airlines Center
Thursday
Service 3, Soldotna 0
Chugiak 3, South 2
Dimond 3, Juneau-Douglas 0
Colony 3, Lathrop 0
Chugiak 3, Service 0
Colony 3, Dimond 1
Friday
Loser’s Bracket
10:00am Soldotna vs. South
11:45am Juneau vs. Lathrop
1:30pm Sol/Sou winner vs. Dimond
3:15pm Jun/Lat winner vs. Service
7:00pm TBD
Winner’s Bracket
5:15pm Chugiak vs. Colony

In the second round, Chugiak beat Service 25-17, 25-20, 25-12 behind Elise Kelley, Horn and Parks. Horn hammered kills to cap each of the first two sets and she kickstarted a 16-1 run to end the third set. During that scoring spree, Parks converted four kills and a block while Kelley added two kills and an ace.

Townsend’s kill on match point sealed the deal for Chugiak, which advanced in the winner’s bracket and will face Colony on Friday at 5:15 p.m. with a trip to the state final on the line.

Since 2005, only three 4A teams have won state – Dimond (9), South (8) and Wasilla (2). The two-time defending champion Warriors are not here, but the CIC powers are, although they will have to work their way through the loser’s bracket to reach Saturday’s championship match.

For now, Chugiak and Colony are in the driver’s seat.

The Knights started their day with a 25-6, 25-22, 25-13 victory over Lathrop before defeating Dimond 25-21, 22-25, 25-21, 25-21 in a thrilling back-and-forth affair.

The Colony-Dimond matchup was like a Futures Game as it featured a ton of players coming back next season.

Colony freshman Taylor Passard pounded six kills in the first set to get the party started for the Mat-Su Valley team. Junior Alli Morrissey mashed kills to cap the first and third sets. Freshman Emily DeHart delivered a kill in the fourth set to end a 34-volley rally for the point of the night.

Nursing a 22-21 lead late in the decisive fourth set, the Knights won the final three points on consecutive kills by junior Callan Knutsen and Passard before the match ended after a miscommunication between two Lynx players, who collided as both attempted to bump the ball.

In the second set, Dimond was on the same page as the Lynx stormed out to a 15-4 lead behind sophomore Anayah Sila and junior Ailafo Fautanu as both standouts contributed three points during the run.

Kills by Eva Johnson spotted the Lynx leads of 16-5 and 17-8, but Colony did not make things easy for Dimond down the stretch and pulled within 20-16 before back-to-back kills by Sila helped the Lynx tie the match 1-1.

In the third set, Morrissey ripped two kills among the final three points at the end as Colony seized control. The fourth set was tight the whole way before Colony won a 34-volley rally that provided the Knights with the momentum they needed to survive and advance.

Class 3A

Last season’s state finalists both prevailed in five-setters as defending state champion Nikiski rallied to beat Monroe Catholic and 2023 state champion Kenai Central stormed back from a two-games-to-none hole to vanquish Valdez in Thursday’s second round of the winner’s bracket.

Nikiski and Kenai will meet Friday at 5:15 p.m. for a spot in Saturday’s title match.

The Kardinals got there in comeback fashion, rallying for a 12-25, 17-25, 25-22, 25-20, 15-11 win over the Bucs. It was Kenai’s fifth five-setter since Oct. 30 as the team improved to 3-2 in those matches, but this was the first time they dug themselves out of a two-games-to-none hole.

For Nikiski, the Bulldogs improved to 3-3 in five-set matches this year.

Don’t be surprised if Friday’s Nikiski-Kenai match goes the distance. The teams have faced off seven times this season, with three of them going the distance. In last week’s conference tournament, Nikiski beat Kenai in five and the next day Kenai beat Nikiski in five before the Bulldogs won the if-necessary super set to claim the title.

3A State Volleyball

ASAA/First National Bank
At Alaska Airlines Center
Thursday
Kenai Central 3, Sitka 0
Valdez 3, Nome-Beltz 0
Monroe Catholic 3, Barrow 2
Nikiski 3, Kotzebue 0
Kenai 3, Valdez 2
Nikiski 3, Monroe 2
Friday
Loser’s Bracket
10:00am Sitka vs. Nome
11:45am Barrow vs. Kotzebue
1:30pm Sit/Nome winner vs. Monroe
3:15pm Bar/Kotz winner vs. Valdez
7:00pm TBD
Winner’s Bracket
5:15pm Kenai vs. Nikiski