Shaw, Gaels put away Mountain Lions

Sierra Vista’s girls volleyball team rattled off five consecutive points in the second set Tuesday night with host Bishop Gorman sitting on 24.

But Gorman outside hitter Kylie Shaw didn’t notice, even as she calmly buried a kill from the back row for the game winner.

“I didn’t even realize how close they got until 24-23, and I hit that last ball from the back row — I didn’t realize how close it was,” said Shaw, whose deep kill gave Gorman the 2-0 advantage going into the final game. “I had that good feeling, that we were playing well enough to keep it up. I wasn’t worried. I knew we could put it away. We’ve been practicing hard, especially finishing games off.”

Shaw’s team-high 12 kills helped the Gaels overcome Mountain Lions comebacks in the first two sets to sweep the season series with a 25-20, 25-23, 25-15 win.

The victory gave the Gaels the Southwest League’s No. 1 seed in the Sunset Region playoffs.

Gorman (24-4, 14-0 Southwest) jumped to a 9-4 lead in the first set. But Sierra Vista (19-3, 12-2) scored eight of the next nine points, capped by back-to-back kills by Taylor Price, to take the lead.

Price, a junior who paced the Mountain Lions with 12 kills, five blocks and three aces, led both rallies before the Gaels shut the door each time.

Morgan Malone had 17 assists for Sierra Vista, whose only losses have come against Gorman (twice) and Douglas at the Las Vegas Invitational.

“It was exciting. We knew it was going to be a tough game,” Shaw said. “In our league, we don’t have the toughest competition, so when Sierra Vista and Bonanza come around, we have to get pumped. Since it was a home game, we really had a chance to get excited.

They played really hard back, and we had a chance for a good competition. It was fun.”

Gaels coach Ed Van Meetren said his team didn’t panic, even after Price put down a block and two aces and Brooke Robinson delivered two kills after Gorman took a 24-18 lead in the second game.

“We just told them to stay focused on what they have to do, take care of our side of the court,” Van Meetren said. “That’s our big push, to make sure we take care of our side of the court. If we do what we have to do on our side, we’re going to be a tough team to compete with. We have so many weapons.”

Kylee Chun had 16 assists, four kills and three aces for the Gaels, who also got 13 assists, six kills and two aces from Liz Manthei.

“They’re both going to touch the ball a lot, and that’s a big plus for us,” Van Meetren said of his two-setter passing game. “They’re both experienced, only ever played varsity, so that’s a big experience factor for us, especially coming down the stretch.”

Shelby Devlin added four kills, four blocks and five aces for Gorman, and Breanna Ruvalcaba served three aces.

Sierra Vista’s Robinson had six kills, and Allison Herold added three kills and three aces.