AOTW: Nikiski volleyball completes improbable run to 3A State Championship Trophy

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - After dropping the very first match of the ASAA 3A State Volleyball championship tournament, Nikiski had to dig itself out of a daunting hole to keep their championship hopes alive in the double-elimination bracket.

With their backs against the wall, the Bulldogs had to win three straight matches on Friday alone just for a chance at appearing in the title game.

First, Nikiski swept Barrow late Friday morning; then, they defeated Sitka in five sets in the afternoon, before capping off the day with a four-set win over Seward on Friday night.

Somehow, the job was still just getting started as they had to face Valdez Saturday morning, the team that took them down in the opening round of the tournament. Down 0-2 to the Buccaneers, the end of an impressive run was looking like it was coming to a close before the Bulldogs rattled off three straight sets to ultimately defeat Valdez and advance to the title game.

All of that just to play their fifth match in a little over 24 hours, with the two-time defending state champion Kenai Kardinals standing in their way of completing the Cinderella run.

But Nikiski didn’t come this far just to be happy to be in the championship game — they stunned Kenai by sweeping them in three straight sets to force an “if-necessary” match.

Due to their loss earlier in the tournament, Nikiski now had to defeat Kenai again, with the first team to score 30 points taking the 3A State title.

Ahead of the most pressurized moment of the season, several Bulldogs were doing the “Baby Shark” dance on center court during intermission.

“It makes us more hyped up,” Alexa Iyatunguk said.

“We had to keep it light out there because when we all get too heavy on each other, that is when we start messing up,” added fellow senior Ashlynne Playle. ”So we just kept it light, stay out of our heads and made sure to stay disciplined,”

With five consecutive match victories, including a sweep over the champs, head coach Stacey Segura wasn’t going to mess with the vibe.

“I don’t necessarily ‘encourage’ that, it was just kind of them doing their thing on their own,” Segura said. “I am more of an ‘intense, let’s stay focused and calm because it’s not over until it’s over’ type of person, but if that’s what gets them going — sure!”

The Bulldogs were off the leash and defeated the Kardinals 30-27 in the “if-necessary” match with the final kill coming from sophomore Mandee Roofe.

″I am so happy. I really wanted to do this for my team. This is for my seniors because I love my team so much,” an emotional Roofe said. “There is no words to describe it, that’s how much I am so grateful and happy right now.”

”Since last year we’ve been like ‘we’re coming back, we’re going to win' and we took the worst path we could have taken. We lost our first game," senior Avery Ellis said. “And to just sweep them and then beat them in four is just so crazy, nothing I would have expected ever.”

Nikiski volleyball scores its first state championship since 2018 behind a well-traveled support group.

”Our community follows us around on every road trip,” Playle said. “Our parents sacrifice their time and their money and just honestly being here and having them support us is the biggest thing for us because we couldn’t do it without our community. So we play for them.”

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