Setter breaks state record as Gorman reaches region title game — PHOTOS
Bishop Gorman’s girls volleyball team punched its ticket back to the Class 5A state tournament on Wednesday, but that wasn’t the only significant moment of the Gaels’ win.
Gorman senior setter Trinity Thompson recorded 38 assists to set a new state record for career assists.
That helped the Gaels, the Desert League champion, to a 25-21, 25-20, 25-12 win over Faith Lutheran, the Mountain League’s No. 2 seed, in a 5A Southern Region semifinal at Legacy.
Gorman (30-8) will face Coronado — a 25-21, 25-11, 25-22 winner over Mountain League champion Arbor View in the other semifinal Wednesday at Legacy — at noon Saturday in the 5A Southern Region title match.
Both teams will advance to the 5A state tournament Nov. 7 and 8 at Sunrise Mountain. The Gaels are looking to win their third consecutive Southern Region and state titles.
Gaels pull away
Gorman outside hitter Ayanna Watson, a Pitt commit, led Gorman with 21 kills. Boyana Pesic added six kills and two blocks, while Ellie Prindl had seven kills and three blocks.
“Not our best match. We struggled a little bit on serve receive and it kind of took us out of our element a little bit,” Gorman coach Gregg Nunley said. “It took us about a game and a half before we came up with a plan to overcome that and it worked.”
Faith Lutheran kept it close the first two sets. The Crusaders (22-15) were tied with Gorman at 18 in the first set and led by as many as four points in the second, but lost both times.
The Gaels dominated the third set. Watson helped put Faith Lutheran away with a late kill.
“Our kids are smart enough and experienced enough that they know what they need to do to pull themselves out of a tough situation,” Nunley said.
Thompson, also a Pitt commit, entered Wednesday with 4,194 assists, 19 away from breaking the state record of 4,212. She broke the record on an assist early in the second set.
“I was a setter and from one setter to another, it kind of gave me goosebumps,” Nunley said. “She accomplished such an incredible feat. It’s going to be years and years before that gets broken. Regardless of what happens in this tournament, it’s a memory that I hope she keeps for the rest of her life.”
Hitters deliver for Cougars
Coronado, the Desert League’s No. 2 seed, got strong performances from middle blocker Rachel Purser and outside hitters Julie Beckham and Gentry Oblad to defeat the Aggies.
“They work really, really hard in practice, especially our outside (hitters), middle and right sides,” Coronado coach Jazlynn Mau said. “To see them get what they deserve is the best feeling as a coach.”
Arbor View (30-7) came out firing and led 10-4 in the first set. But Coronado (25-9) wasn’t rattled. Purser came up with a kill to finish the Cougars’ rally.
Coronado took advantage of several Arbor View mistakes and took the second set on an ace, and the final set on a Beckham kill. Beckham, a UNLV commit, had 11 kills. Purser, a Hawaii commit, added nine kills and Oblad, a Grand Canyon commit, had 11.
“(Arbor View) came out strong, they had a burst of energy, but that’s where we needed to keep our composure and know that it’s going to be on our side and in our favor,” Mau said. “We just continued to push on.”
Gorman defeated Coronado in each of the last two 5A Southern Region and state title matches. The Gaels swept Coronado in their two regular-season matches this year.
“We’re going to try the same thing, we’re going to stay consistent mentally, we’re going to go hard as much as we can and continue to fight because we want to earn it,” Mau said.
Contact Alex Wright at awright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlexWright1028 on X.
