DIVISION I-A VOLLEYBALL: Crusaders stay hot, sweep Eagles in region final

The last time Faith Lutheran’s girls volleyball team lost a set to a team from Nevada was Sept. 25 against Palo Verde.

But when Boulder City took a 20-19 lead in the third set on Friday, Crusaders coach Amy Fisher wasn’t thinking about her team’s impressive streak. She was more concerned with not letting the Eagles back into the match.

“I knew if we didn’t win that (set), it would give Boulder momentum to get their flow going, which they started to do in the third game,” Fisher said. “I was a little on edge. But I knew if we got up by two points in the 20s, I knew we would be able to close it out.”

As it turned out, Fisher had nothing to worry about.

Cayla Nikodemus had 16 kills and 13 digs, and Courtney Hansen added 13 kills as Faith Lutheran swept Boulder City 25-12, 25-15, 25-23 in the Division I-A Southern Region tournament final at Legacy.

It is the second straight region title for the Crusaders (25-12), who enter next week’s Division I-A state tournament at Green Valley having won 39 straight sets against in-state competition and 18 of their past 19 matches overall.

Boulder City (22-10) also advanced to the state tournament.

“They’ve accomplished a ton this year,” Fisher said. “They have a lot of confidence. They believe in themselves, and they believe in each other. Winning two in a row is a huge confidence boost.”

Megan Panikkar finished with 19 assists and three aces, and Megan Kronschnabel chipped in with 15 assists for Faith Lutheran, which used a 10-1 run in the first set to take control.

Hansen then had eight kills in the second set and sparked a key 5-0 run midway through that put the Crusaders ahead by seven points.

“I think we had some jitters coming in because Faith (Lutheran) has a reputation and is such a powerhouse,” Boulder City coach Cherise Hinman said. “When you reach this level of play, the immaturity tends to rear its ugly head.”

Whitney Barlow put away 20 kills to lead the Eagles. Kendall Miller handed out 31 assists, and Alyssa Ybarra notched 16 digs for Boulder City, which struggled to pass the ball early on but settled down in the third set.

An ace by Ybarra gave the Eagles a 17-16 lead, and a hitting error put Boulder City on top 20-19 before the Crusaders regained the lead thanks to a 4-0 spurt. Nikodemus capped the run when she terminated through a double block to make it 23-20, and she put away the winner after Boulder City staved off one match point.

“In the third game, we finally realized we can play with them, but it was a little too late,” Hinman said. “We have next week still. That’s where we need to prove ourselves is at state.”