Desert Oasis earns first tourney title at Warrior Classic
Desert Oasis’ girls volleyball team finished sixth in the Southwest League last year, but coach Ross Dyer sensed his team would be vastly improved in 2010.
The Diamondbacks showed flashes of that improvement Saturday in winning the first tournament in the program’s three-year history.
Desert Oasis swept Valley, 25-21, 26-24 in the championship match of the Warrior Classic at Western, finishing the day 5-0 in the season-opening tourney.
“In the past, the first two years of the program, we had a lot of internal trouble with the girls,” Dyer said. “This year, we’ve got 12 girls that are a team. They care about each other, they work together, and they’re always there for each other. When we get down, we’ll be able to come back.”
The Diamondbacks scored the clinching point in the decisive game when Valley misplayed a serve from Desert Oasis’ Megan Hughes.
“Megan’s been begging me to serve for weeks,” Dyer said. “Today, she served and served really well.”
“Megan’s been begging me to serve for weeks,” Dyer said. “Today, she served and served really well.”
The final game featured 11 ties and five lead changes, but Desert Oasis never trailed by more than three points.
The Diamondbacks scored the first five points in the first game of the title match and led the rest of the way.
Kendra Stanfield had five kills and four aces for Desert Oasis, and Paul added two kills and two blocks.
Lenore Porter had four kills and Nyla Whalum tallied three aces for Valley, which battled back from a 2-1 loss to Clark in pool play to reach the title match.
Though tougher competition in Southwest play lies ahead for Desert Oasis, Dyer was encouraged by his team’s 2-1 victory over league foe Clark in the semifinals. The Diamondbacks rallied from a 10-6 hole in the third game to win, 25-19, 23-25, 15-13.
“Beating Clark today was big because we play them,” Dyer said. “There are some in the Southwest that are going to be tough to beat; that’s reality. But we’re going to be able to hang with the majority of them.”
Desert Oasis junior outside hitter Emily Heinz was named tournament Most Valuable Player, and teammates Hughes and Stanfield joined her on the all-tournament team.
Valley’s Porter and Jana Aquino, Clark’s Jessica Silva and Tech’s Sarah Oettinger also received all-tournament honors.
