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Jonathan Alder wins battle of neighboring rivals

October 10, 2005

By Jim Jicha

Watching Jonathan Alder play Fairbanks last Thursday brought back some great memories. My daughter Kelly played for Fairbanks, and thereby introduced me to volleyball. Jonathan Alder High School was only ten miles away making the schools big rivals.

Kelly’s team played some matches I will never forget, one with Alder in 1989 when she was a sophomore. Fairbanks had a strong team, and on a hot day in late August they met the Pioneers in the season opener.

The gym was stifling and both teams were quickly drenched. A severe thunderstorm hit during the first game and, with every close lightning strike, the scoreboard shut down and had to be completely restarted.

To make matters worse, the Pioneers started off hammering the Panthers, winning the first game, and racing to a 9-1 lead in game two. It was at that fateful juncture that a sophomore named Lori Thompson, who lived just up the road from us and who was destined to be an all-state setter as a senior, made her varsity debut...at the line. When Alder finally broke her serve, the Panthers were up 10-9 and on their way to a victory.

But that was then, and things have changed. 

The Pioneers have become a Central District volleyball power, and made the regional final a couple of years ago.

They have a brand spanking new high school this year, an architectural masterpiece with a glass ceiling entry, wide hallways, and a beautifully landscaped student courtyard. And, of course, a nice new gym!

And I have assumed a new career as a substitute teacher, and working at both schools precludes me from taking sides any more. On Thursday I was rooting for five games and a two point tiebreaker!

A five game match was not in the cards, however, as the Pioneers defeated Fairbanks for the second time in twelve days. Their first victory came in the Triad Invitational by a 25-22, 25-18 score, and this time the count was 25-13, 25-20, 25-23.

Alder’s edge in the match boiled down to two factors. The first was a blocking clinic put on by Katie Troyer. The senior middle hitter stymied the Panther attack all night, scoring at least six points on blocks and preventing numerous other Panther spikes from doing harm.

Second was a large disparity in service aces, with Alder outscoring Fairbanks 13-3. This was due to some great line drive serves by Alder, abetted by serve receive problems on the other side of the net.

These factors were most pronounced in game one, which Alder led going away from a 1-1 tie. Troyer started it off with a block and Fairbanks scored on a tip by Jenny Halterman. Troyer scored the go ahead kill for the Pioneers, and setter/outside hitter Jessica Adams served two aces.

Leading 5-4, Alder went on a 9-1 run with Troyer serving three aces, outside hitter Samantha Maddux adding another and Adams clobbering a Panther overpass.

Fairbanks narrowed the lead a bit to 18-12, but outside hitter Brianna Votaw spiked a cross court kill and Adams served up three more aces.

Alder’s final three points came on a short set spike by Troyer and blocks by Maddux and Troyer.

Game two looked briefly like a repeat. But with Alder up 3-1, Halterman scored on a tip and two spikes, and junior outside Kaylann Scheiderer nailed an ace to give the Panthers a 5-3 lead, and from that point the teams played evenly until the end.

The Panthers went up 9-6 on a kill by sophomore Danielle Benedict that came after Halterman dug a Pioneer smash.

Alder went on top 11-10 on two kills by Adams and two more blocks from Troyer. But after a Pioneer service error, Scheiderer served an ace for Fairbanks and Halterman tipped into a hole for a 14-12 Panther lead.

The score was tied at 14, 15 and 16 at which point Adams blocked two straight Fairbanks tip attempts. Scheiderer scored on a hit from back court and Benedict spiked through a double block to tie it again at 18.

Halterman forced another tie at 19 on a well placed hit from back court to an open corner, but then the roof fell in on Fairbanks.

Adams scored on a tip, Troyer smoked a Panther overpass, and a Panther hit touched the pole. Benedict got her team back on the board with a well placed hit. But Troyer terminated the next volley with a shot down the line, and two Panther hitting errors sealed their fate.

Fairbanks came out firing with a balanced attack in game three to go up 3-0 and 8-3. Troyer scored Alder’s first point with another big block, and while that wasn't a big factor in the score at the time, the point loomed large at the end. Scheiderer, Halterman, Brianne Nicol and Benedict scored kills for Fairbanks, and Amanda Mapes had an ace.

Junior middle hitter Megan Walk started a Pioneer rally with a smash that was blocked out. She followed with a tip after which Troyer served up two more aces. The Pioneers committed a couple of errors, but Walk finally tied it at 10 with an ace, and a block by Adams put them ahead. Scoring went back and forth, as Halterman blocked Troyer for a 13-12 Panther lead and Troyer returned the favor to even it at 15.

The Pioneers then spurted to a 19-15 lead. A couple of points came on Fairbanks hitting errors, but Alder’s defense contributed, with Wehner digging a spike and Troyer rejecting another, to keep volleys alive. Votaw also served an ace.

A miscue by Alder ended the run and the Panthers rallied back to a tie on kills by Nicol and Benedict.

At this juncture scoring went back and forth again with Walk keeping Alder in control of the tempo. Nicol made a great dig on Troyer giving Fairbanks a chance to go ahead, but Walk ended the Panther run with a kill. Alder then committed two serving errors, but after each Walk scored a kill for sideout, with Troyer picking up an assist on the second.

Ahead 22-21, Alder made yet another serving error, and this time Votaw came to the rescue with a blast through Fairbanks’ block. Halterman retied it at 23, but once again disaster struck for Fairbanks as Troyer blasted a kill off of block tip, and a Panther hit sailed out to end the game and match.