Foothill answers coach’s challenge, routs Silverado

Foothill girls volleyball coach Krysta Ortiz told her players that a win wouldn’t be good enough on Tuesday. She wanted a big win.

Ortiz’s squad responded by trouncing Silverado 25-15, 25-19, 25-21 in the first round of the Sunrise Region tournament at Green Valley.

Aside from a brief lapse in the third set, the Falcons (17-13) dominated throughout.

“We told them that anything less (than a sweep) would be unacceptable,” said Ortiz, whose team will face Green Valley in a 7:15 p.m. semifinal at Legacy on Thursday. “And they did it.”

Senior middle blocker Nicolette White (10 kills) was the offensive leader, but Ortiz also credited Indoneisha Strue (nine kills, three blocks), Cailey Bean (26 assists) and Korina Bush (20 digs).

“We told them they were in the key positions,” Ortiz said. “They’d have to hold (the Skyhawks) down. They were or leaders tonight.”

Amari Norris led Silverado with six kills and a block, and teammate Melanie Srok added four kills and a block.

■ Basic 3, Las Vegas 2 — Kali Weires had 14 kills, eight digs and six blocks to help the Wolves hang on for a 26-24, 16-25, 25-22, 13-25, 18-16 win over the Wildcats.

C.J. Kelley had 28 assists, 15 digs, five blocks and two kills for Basic, which built an 8-0 lead in the final set before Las Vegas battled back to tie it at 14. An error by the Wildcats provided match point.

Lynsie Udall (32 digs) and Kyla Bohannon (27 digs, six kills) also contributed for the Wolves (16-13), who will face Coronado at 3:45 Thursday.

Charlai Francis had 21 kills and Matti Ventling 20 assists for Las Vegas (18-14).

■ Green Valley 3, Liberty 0 — Nikki Drost had 13 aces, seven kills and five digs to help the Gators (26-7) to a 25-12, 25-10, 25-9 rout of the Patriots (4-13).

Bridgette Dwyer had 10 kills and Alley Seidler 24 assists for Green Valley.

■ Coronado 3, Rancho 0 — The Cougars jumped to a 12-0 lead in the first set and never looked back en route to a 25-10, 25-16, 25-9 win over the Rams.

Nikki Jackson and Taylor Jackson had seven kills apiece for Coronado (27-6). Teammates Cali Thompson (six aces, four kills), Brooke Garlick (six kills) and Berkeley Oblad (six kills) also contributed.

Kayla Coles had three kills and Danielle Corino two for Rancho (15-17).

Ashley Smith served three straight winning points for Shadow Ridge and then was involved in five of the team’s last seven points en route to the match-clinching win in the Mustangs’ 14-25, 25-19, 25-16, 25-20 win over Bonanza.

The Mustangs face Southwest No. 1 Bishop Gorman at 2 p.m. Thursday in a semifinal.

With Shadow Ridge (19-11) leading 18-16, Smith saved a shot headed toward her team bench, allowing the Mustangs to eventually get the point and go back up by three. Shadow Ridge went up 21-16 before exchanging points with Bonanza (13-15) down the stretch. Smith’s tear drop over Bonanza’s awaiting defenders expecting a spike put the Mustangs up 24-18, and her booming shot from the left side ended the match.

■ Centennial 3, Arbor View 1 — Kristi Farley had 43 assists, five aces and three kills, and Nani Padilla Perez added 13 kills and eight digs to lead the Bulldogs past the Aggies 25-14, 25-10, 23-25, 25-20.

Cristina Owens had 13 kills and four blocks and Cydni Long 10 kills and two blocks for Centennial (21-11).

Jenna McClure had 31 assists and four aces and Tamani Simmons 16 kills and two aces for Arbor View (21-13).

Centennial faces Palo Verde (32-4) at 5:30 p.m. Thursday.

■ Palo Verde 3, Legacy 0 — Stephanie Herman had 23 assists and Kendall Cheval 10 kills and five aces to lead the top-seeded Panthers to a 25-12, 25-5, 25-12 win.

McCall Phillips had eight digs and two kills and Jenna Bobroski seven digs and five aces for the Panthers.

Ashly Goor led Legacy (7-18) with three kills, two digs and two blocks.

■ Bishop Gorman 3, Durango 0 — Giana Ruggeroli had 10 kills and seven digs for the Southwest No. 1 Gaels, who survived a tight third set in their 25-11, 25-15, 31-29 win over the Trailblazers.

Emma Filosi had 23 assists and three kills and Shelly Laman 12 digs for Gorman (27-7). Cheyanne Haas had five kills and eight digs to lead Durango.

Pahrump Valley rallied for a 17-25, 25-23, 25-22, 25-23 win over host Chaparral in a Division I-A Southern Region quarterfinal. Pahrump Valley (18-16) will meet Boulder City in Thursday’s semifinal at 7 p.m. at Chaparral.

Each of the next three sets came down to key late plays. In the second set, the Trojans got three big kills from Payton Hart to even the match at 1-1.

The third set was tied at 20 before Chaparral made three serving errors that led to the Trojans taking the lead.

The Trojans led 17-16 in the fourth set before a spurt thanks to blocks from Mikayla Davis and points from Hart to finish the victory.

Hannah Kirschbaum had 18 kills, four aces and three blocks to lead Chaparral.

■ Boulder City 3, Cheyenne 0 — Whitney Barlow had 19 kills to power the Eagles to a 25-12, 25-16, 25-16 victory.

Kendall Miller had 27 assists and three blocks and Alyssa Ybarra 16 digs for Boulder City (21-9). Bria Buchanan had four kills and four digs and Erin McNally four digs for the Deser Shields.

■ Clark 3, Moapa Valley 1 — Emi Ataona had nine kills and five aces to help the Chargers win 15-25-25-14, 25-23, 25-16.

June Roberts had seven kills and four aces and Bobbi Floyd six kills and three blocks for Clark (14-12). Makenzie Bush had 17 kills for the Pirates.

■ Faith Lutheran 3, Sunrise Mountain 0 — Megan Panikkar had 17 assists and five aces as the defending regional champs won for the 16th time in 17 matches, 25-7, 25-5, 25-16.

Faith Lutheran (23-12) meets Clark in a semifinal at 5:15 p.m. Thursday.