Anchorage Daily News

Clear a spot in the Anchorage Christian Schools' gymnasium for a new banner. The Lions are Alaska's new Class 3A state volleyball champions.

Powered by the deafening spikes of middle hitter Anna Simmers, the Lions swept Southcentral Conference rival Grace Christian 25-21, 25-16, 25-15, on Saturday to capture the school's first state volleyball championship.

The Lions came into the state tournament as sleepers, but went home as queens of the court. ACS (16-4) never lost a set the entire weekend, sweeping Monroe Catholic, Valdez and Grace Christian.

"This is so sweet," said Simmers, a senior. "I didn't expect this. I'm just shocked."

Shocked because of the Lions' arduous run to their third straight state tournament appearance.

ACS didn't have a libero all season long until the Southcentral Conference tournament, Simmers said. Come tournament time, the Lions faced Grace Christian in the Southcentral's opening round.

The Grizzlies had beaten ACS twice during the regular season, but ACS upset its rival in the semifinals and went on to face Cordova in the conference title match.

Though Cordova won, ACS took the three-time defending state champion Wolverines to five games in the match. That gave the Lions a boost of confidence before the state tournament, but not so much that they expected to leave as champs when it was all over.

"I honestly didn't think we would win state," Simmers said. "There were other teams that were straight-up better."

Not Saturday night. The Lions dominated, never allowing Grace to take a lead in the first two sets. Other than the early stages of first set, the closest Grace came to tying the score was two points, 18-16 and 23-21.

Debbiey Simmers' back-to-back kills sealed the Lions' 25-21 opening-set victory.

In the second set, ACS took an early 7-1 lead and never looked back. The Lions finished with a 9-3 run to capture the 25-16 victory.

But in the third set, ACS worked hard for every point. An ace by Grace's Hannah Johnson tied the score 9-9. But when a Debbiey Simmers kill gave ACS an 11-10 lead, the Lions never trailed again.

Ahead 21-15, Debbiey Simmers' two kills and Olivia James' pair of aces sealed the Lions' place in history.

Anna Simmers led the Lions with 12 kills, while Chantell Bennett added 23 digs and Sarah Sullivan chipped in a team-high eight blocks.

Johnson's 13 kills led ACS, while Anna Metcalf finished with 16 digs and setter Allison Pargeter racked up 26 assists.

Grace's first-year coach Connie Weisenfelder said she was proud of her players' accomplishments this season, but didn't want to take anything away from ACS.

"They played a great match and came out strong," she said.

ACS coach Crystal Dyson didn't have much to say about the victory. She just thanked the Man upstairs.

"It was all the Lord," she said.

Today, Dyson and her daughter Chelsea, who earned all-tournament honors, are headed to Mexico for a cruise. When Chelsea returns, it'll be time for another sport -- girls basketball. Practice starts Dec. 1.

It will be a reunion of sorts for the volleyball team. Four starters also start on the basketball team, including Anna Simmers.

Whether she's sinking basketballs into a net or spiking volleyballs over a net, Simmers is always an impact player, Chelsea Dyson said.

"She can get the ball down when we need a point," Dyson said.

Find Daily News sports reporter Kevin Klott at adn.com/sports/kklott or 257-4335.

Saturday's other Class 3A results

3rd Place -- Cordova d. Valdez 25-4, 25-23, 25-17.

4th Place -- Mt. Edgecumbe d. Monroe 25-11, 25-9, 25-9.

Class 3A All-Tournament Team

Alex Wegner, Valdez; Tricia Ivanoff, Mt. Edgecumbe; Jocelyn Ribar, Monroe Catholic; Melissa Merritt, Cordova; Kate Ferrin, Grace Christian; Anna Simmers, Anchorage Christian Schools; Victoria Roemhildt, Cordova; Allison Pargeter, Grace Christian; Chelsea Dyson, Anchorage Christian Schools; Hannah Johnson, Grace Christian; Emily Cronk, Mt. Edgecumbe; Debbiey Simmers, Anchorage Christian Schools.

Class 3A Most Outstanding Awards

Server -- Anna Metcalf, Grace; Defensive specialist -- Elizabeth Collins, Cordova; Hitter -- Anna Simmers, ACS; Setter -- Victoria Roemhildt, Cordova; Academic Award -- Anchorage Christian Schools, 3.8 GPA; Sportsmanship Award -- Monroe Catholic.

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