SUNRISE REGION: Green Valley charges into semifinals
Senior Beau Gronert remembers when Green Valley was one of the top boys volleyball teams in Southern Nevada, and he wants to return it to that level.
Gronert had 13 kills and two blocks as the Gators ran to a 25-16, 25-18, 25-12 win over Rancho in the Sunrise Region quarterfinals Tuesday at Las Vegas High.
“I just wanted to make the most of the opportunity that we had this year, and that we didn’t have last year,” said Gronert, whose team missed the 2010 playoffs by one spot. “With the players we have this year, and the way we work as a team, we’re so much more tight. We want to take that as far as we can.”
Green Valley (13-6) hadn’t won a playoff match since 2007, and second-year coach Kevin Barney reminded his players of that fact in the past week.
“I’m fairly new there, but the seniors aren’t,” Barney said. “They’ve seen the program in lower states, and they really want to bring it back to be one of the best in Las Vegas. I told them the first step in that is taking care of business in the first round.”
Nick Hevrin had 27 assists for Green Valley and also charged up his team by throwing himself at every loose ball and deep hit by Rancho (12-7).
“I’ve been hard on him all year because his defense hasn’t been where it should be,” Barney said of Hevrin. “Lately, I’ve really worked hard with him to make sure he’s moving correctly. He did a lot better today. He still can improve, and he knows that, but without him we simply can’t play our best volleyball.”
Wesley Reed had five kills and three blocks and Dallas Tueller added five kills for the Gators, who will play Coronado at 5:20 p.m. Thursday at Las Vegas.
Guillermo Silva had six kills for Rancho, and Nathan Campo distributed nine assists. Sean O’Meara posted four blocks for the Rams.
Silverado 3, Valley 0 — Kyle Divicino posted 10 kills, three aces and two blocks to lead the Skyhawks to a 25-8, 25-8, 25-21 win over the Vikings.
Dakota Relle had 20 assists for Silverado (17-2), and Ruben Jackson added five kills.
Ignacio Diaz had three kills and two blocks for Valley (12-6), which got 10 assists from Peter Nunes.
Coronado 3, Desert Pines 0 — Jahren Makanoa served five aces to help the Cougars rout the Jaguars, 25-9, 25-9, 25-12.
Byrin Romney had 29 assists and four aces and Chris Andrulis added nine kills, three blocks and three aces for Coronado (16-3). The Cougars had 14 aces.
Austin Moiseyev had six kills and two blocks for Coronado.
Tony Savea had nine assists for Desert Pines (9-10), which got three kills apiece from C.J. Fletcher and Trevor Krystek.
Las Vegas 3, Basic 0 — Tyler Crawford had 13 kills and two blocks to power the Wildcats to a 25-9, 25-17, 25-13 win over the Wolves.
Luke Hansen added 25 assists, six kills and three blocks for Las Vegas (18-1), and Ronnie Adams had eight kills and two blocks.
Basic’s John Fitz had five assists, and Mark Bowman added two kills and three blocks. Weston Crum had two kills and two blocks for the Wolves (9-8).
