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FAIRBANKS — Ten teams, two days, 42 matches — when it all shakes out, a winner of the West Valley Invitational will be crowned Saturday.

Round-robin play in two five-team divisions begins at 2 p.m. today, with half-hour matches taking place simultaneously on two courts until 7 p.m.

Comprising Division A is West Valley, Eielson, Monroe Catholic, Valdez and Hutchison. Comprising Division B is Houston, Lathrop, Delta Junction, North Pole and West Valley junior varsity.

At the end of pool play, the top two finishers in each division, plus a wild card team, will advance to the top Gold Division for matches from 7-9:30 p.m. tonight. The other teams will continue play in the Red Division. All matches are rally scoring, with the first to 25 (win by two) the victor.

Gold and Red Division round-robin play will wrap up Saturday morning, with the results setting up the Red Division championship at noon and the Gold Division championship at 1 p.m. The championship matches are best two-of-three sets.

West Valley won last year’s eight-team Invitational with a 25-21, 25-19 victory over Lathrop.

Monroe volleyball falls to Valdez

Valdez easily topped Monroe Catholic 25-10, 25-16, 25-14 in a preview of their opening match in the West Valley Invitational today.

The Rams, trying to shake off early-season struggles, looked improved against the “mistake-free” Buccaneers, Monroe head coach Mike Lessley said by telephone.

“That’s why (Valdez is) one of the best in the state,” he said.

The Rams looked better in their serve-receive, back-row defense and blocking, Lessley said.

For Monroe, Breanna Walsh had three kills and several digs. Sierra Minder tallied three blocks and three kills.

Lessley added that Isabella Evans and Grace Kauklis played solid, too.

“Playing teams like Valdez gives us a chance to see things we can’t see in the Interior,” Lessley said, again mentioning the Buccaneers’ lack of errors. “... Just to play them better is a feather in our cap.”

West Valley netters win over North Pole

West Valley took down North Pole 4-3 in Mid Alaska Conference tennis action Friday night.

The Wolfpack earned the one-point edge as Joe Sample blanked Mason Schoemaker in boys No. 1 singles 6-0, 6-0; Forest Owen and Logan Little defeated Thomas Lenahan and Adam Wurster in boys doubles 6-0, 6-0; Caitlin Deutsch defeated Laurie Geyer in No. 1 girls singles 6-0, 6-0; and Loni Ellsworth defeated Kayla Arthofer 3-6, 6-1, 7-5 (tiebreaker) in No. 2 girls singles.

North Pole’s points came in girls doubles, where Victoria Martinez and Kelsey Scott nipped Aurora Roth and Teresa Larry, 6-5, 4-6, 9-7; at No. 2 boys singles, as Phillip Martinez defeated Sean Markle 6-3, 2-6, 7-3; and in mixed doubles, where Katie Callahan and Ryan Smith defeated Jenna Powers and Lee Edwards 5-6, 6-4, 7-3.

“We played half-decent in the first set, but we really turned up the heat in the second set,” Smith said of his mixed doubles win.

Ellingson dominates gymnastics

Karlie Ellingson of Lathrop didn’t just win the all-around competition at a high school gymnastics meet Thursday in North Pole. She also claimed victory in every event.

In the all-around, Ellingson’s 32.375 points placed her well ahead of runner-up Cassie Ringstad of Monroe Catholic (30.2). Kaylee Manning of Lathrop took third with 29.7. Sydney Eckert of Lathrop was fourth in 24.725 and Tracey Ahern of Hutchison placed fifth with 22.65.

On the vault, Ellingson’s 8.2 edged Ahern (8.15), Manning (8.1) and Ringstad (8.05).

On the bars, Ellingson scored 7.7 while Manning and Ringstad tied for second with 7.0.

On beam, Ellingson’s 8.45 easily out-pointed Ringstad (7.35). Rachel Tomsha of Lathrop and Manning tied for third with 6.9.

On the floor exercise, Ellingson came out on top with 8.1. Ringstad scored 7.8 and Manning had 7.7.

Twenty-nine gymnasts from Lathrop, Monroe, North Pole and Hutchison participated.