Skyhawks oust rival in Sunrise semis

Silverado's girls volleyball team was 0-2 against rival Coronado in two regular-season matches.

But the third meeting was a different story as Kayla Agae logged 17 kills, including eight in the first game, to power Silverado to a 26-24, 25-18, 25-21 sweep of the Cougars in the Class 4A Sunrise Region semifinals Thursday at Las Vegas High.

"During the season, facing them and losing, it made us so fired up as a whole team," Agae said. "Before the match, we sat together in a circle, even prayed, and stuck together as a whole team -- like peanut butter and jelly."

The Skyhawks (20-13) took a 1-0 lead on Agae's offensive dominance, and their defense held Cougars standout hitter Kuulei Piena scoreless.

Silverado used an 8-2 run late in the game to take a 23-16 lead before Coronado senior Sara Jones led a comeback bid that fell just short. A kill by Agae and a Coronado hitting error gave the Skyhawks the win.

Senior setter Marilyn Agae fueled a steady Silverado attack with 24 assists and five kills, consistently finding younger sister Kayla on the left side for a blistering spike.

Piena, who finished with 12 kills for Coronado (28-6), delivered five kills to spark the Cougars to a 16-14 lead midway through the second game but couldn't hold off Kayla Agae. Agae dropped a kill and two aces before Natalie Lainhart hit the game-winning kill on a textbook set by Marilyn Agae.

Silverado coach Jenn Boeddeker said the defending state champion Skyhawks lived up to "the program's legacy" with the win after finishing third in the Southeast League.

"The program certainly has always done its best to be one of the more competitive teams in Southern Nevada," Boeddeker said. "And I think that we spent a good bit of the season not living up to our legacy, and I think that it really has turned for them. They're working on being motivated."

Lainhart and Lauren Tegtmeier each had five kills for Silverado.

Katie Gamsky supplied 29 assists and two aces for Coronado, which got eight kills from Kristen Herlosky and seven kills from Sara Jones.

The Skyhawks face Green Valley at 5 p.m. today at Las Vegas High in the championship match.

■ Green Valley 3, Las Vegas 1 -- Freshman Nikki Drost turned the Gators' semifinal match against Las Vegas into her own personal hitting and serving clinic, rallying Green Valley to a 23-25, 25-13, 25-13, 25-12 win over the host Wildcats.

Drost paced the Gators (26-9) with 24 kills and six aces, and Jenna Swaffer had 24 assists for Green Valley.

Emma Johnson added 11 kills and three aces for the Gators, who got three blocks from Sommer King.

Natresha Bernard had 10 kills and five blocks for Las Vegas (19-7), and Tiffany Jackson added 19 assists and two kills.

SUNSET REGION

Centennial's Ashley Hill didn't think she served well in the Bulldogs' first-round win over Pahrump Valley on Tuesday.

The senior libero made up for it Thursday.

Hill had six aces, 28 digs and four kills in leading Centennial (29-7) to a 25-19, 22-25, 25-15, 25-23 win over Sierra Vista (23-4) in the Sunset Region semifinals at Las Vegas High.

"I knew on our playoff game the day before we broke down on our serves. We kept missing serves," Hill said. "I knew I had to pull it out for my team. I had to go back there and be a leader. I'm one of the captains, so I had to show what I've got. I had to step it up, and I feel like I did."

Hill served for 10 straight points in the decisive third game, when she delivered four aces and gave the Bulldogs a 21-14 lead.

After Centennial took the first game, Brooke Robinson's three kills and Allison Herold's back-to-back spikes led the Mountain Lions on a 9-3 run to end the second with a 25-22 win that left the teams tied at a game apiece.

Sierra Vista appeared to take control of the third game, jumping to a 14-11 lead before Hill stepped up to the service stripe.

Junior outside hitter Kaitlin Kelly had 12 kills -- including seven in the first game -- to go with three aces for the Bulldogs, and Lacy Miyahira added 33 assists and two kills.

Allison Tatom supplied eight blocks and five kills for Centennial.

Robinson finished with 18 kills, and Morgan Malone had 35 assists for Sierra Vista.

■ Bishop Gorman 3, Faith Lutheran 1 -- Liz Manthei's 16 kills, 12 assists and five blocks rallied the Gaels to a 24-26, 25-20, 25-10, 25-13 win over the Crusaders in the other Sunset semifinal.

Freshman Gianna Ruggeroli and senior Kylie Shaw each added 10 kills for Gorman (30-8), and Kylie Chun had 32 assists and seven kills.

Shelby Devlin had six blocks for Gaels, and Anna Dondero added four.

Kelsey McCourt led Faith Lutheran (23-11) with 18 assists, Taylor Richards added 10 kills and Taylor Hammer supplied four kills and four blocks.

Contact reporter Sean Walker at swalker@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0430.