Anchorage — Two defending state volleyball champions from out of town will be at Dimond High this week for the Class 2A and Mixed 6 state tournaments, which start Thursday and conclude Saturday.
Klawock will defend its Class 2A title and Glacier View will defend its Mixed 6 title. Altogether, eight teams will compete in each tournament.
Located on Prince of Wales Island, Klawock comes in as the top seed from the Southeast Conference. This will be Klawock's seventh straight appearance in a state tournament. Since the inception of the Class 2A tournament three seasons ago, Klawock has won two titles and finished fourth in 2010.
Kenny Lake, which finished second to Klawock last season, is also back, and there is a possibility of a championship rematch.
Last season's Mixed 6 title was Glacier View's first. The small Mat-Su Borough school is the top seed from the Southwest conference. The Wolverines won the conference tournament in Soldotna last weekend, defeating Nikolaevsk in a five-set championship match.
Noatak and Unalakleet, which finished second and third, respectively, in last season's Mixed 6 state tournament, are the only other returning teams.
First-round matches begin Thursday at 2 p.m. Saturday's championship matches are at 4:30 p.m., for Mixed 6 and 6:30 p.m., for Class 2A.
2A and Mixed 6 volleyball state championships
First-round matches
Thursday at Dimond High
Class 2A
Kenny Lake vs. Koliganek, 2 p.m.
Su-Valley vs. Craig, 3:45 p.m.
Klawock vs. Unalaska, 5:30 p.m.
Dillingham vs. Chevak, 7:15 p.m.
Mixed 6
Emmonak vs. Elim, 2 p.m.
Noatak vs. Akiachak, 3:45 p.m.
Unalakleet vs. Thorne Bay, 5:30 p.m.
Glacier View vs. Alak, 7:15 p.m.
