4A STATE: Hyer leads Bonanza into final
Jared Hyer doesn’t play on the back row for Bonanza’s boys volleyball team, leading to some anxious moments while awaiting his rotation.
The senior outside hitter didn’t let it show when he stepped on the court.
Hyer had nine kills, including two back-to-back that negated a Silverado set point in the third, and Price Jarman added 14 kills and five blocks to help Bonanza grind past the Skyhawks, 26-24, 27-25, 33-31 on Tuesday in a Class 4A state semifinal at Las Vegas High.
Bonanza (22-0) will face Coronado (19-3) in today’s 6 p.m. final at Las Vegas.
After Kyle Divicino put down one of his 11 kills to give the Skyhawks (18-4) a 28-27 edge in the third set, Hyer responded with consecutive kills to put the Bengals back in control, and a block by Jarman sealed the win.
It was Hyer’s first action after sitting on the bench for several points.
“I’m sitting there, and I had these butterflies in my stomach; my hand was shaking,” Hyer said. “As soon as I got in there, I told (setter Craig Whiting), 'set me the ball; I want to hit it.’
“I meant to angle it, but all of a sudden the block closed up. I closed my eyes and swung, and hoped for the best.”
Neither team led by more than four points in the first set, but Jarman led Bonanza on a 6-1 run after falling behind 22-18 to pull out the win.
Steven Jex had two kills and three blocks to power Silverado in the second set, which featured 10 ties and eight lead changes before the Bengals grabbed the win on kills by Jarman and Hyer. Jex finished with eight kills and five blocks for the Skyhawks.
“We have that gritty mentality ... We’ve definitely been in those back-and-forth situations,” Bonanza coach Joe Cap said. “So I just tell the guys to have mental toughness. That’s where we’ve got to be stronger, up in the mind.
“That mental stability is where we hopefully can win matches,” Cap added.
The third set was tied 22 times before Bonanza eked out the win on Hyer’s heroics, as well as five kills and two blocks from Jarman.
“Jared is one of those guys that I can count on,” Cap said. “In clutch situations, he’s able to score points for us.”
Parker Evans had 11 kills and two aces for Bonanza, and Cru Leavitt contributed seven kills, 12 digs and two aces. Whiting distributed 38 assists.
Dakota Relle tallied 37 assists and three aces for the Skyhawks, and Brian Theophil supplied eight kills and 24 digs.
Coronado 3, Shadow Ridge 0 — Chris Andrulis had 21 kills and three blocks to help the Cougars overcome a stout Mustang defense, 25-20, 25-23, 25-17.
Jahren Makanoa added 14 kills and 17 digs for Coronado, which will play in its third straight state final.
“We didn’t talk about championships, at all (this season),” Coronado coach Matt Johnson said. “We talked about just getting better as a team each day, each practice. Our goal was not necessarily to play another game, but it was to practice another day. We just really focused on trying to get better each day, and never mention championships, never mention banners.”
Byrin Romney dished out 42 assists for the Cougars, and Raymond Chan added 21 digs.
Cody Tesoro had 47 digs for Shadow Ridge (15-7), and Justin Kent supplied 23 digs and five kills.
