SUNRISE VOLLEYBALL: Gators sweep Falcons, set up date with Coronado for region title

Early in the season, Green Valley’s girls volleyball team struggled to close out opponents.

The Gators didn’t have a problem putting away Foothill on Thursday.

Nikki Drost had 13 kills, and Alley Seidler had 25 assists, eight digs and one block as Green Valley seized the momentum at the end of the first set and cruised to a 25-19, 25-15, 25-16 victory over the Falcons in the Division I Sunrise Region semifinals at Legacy.

“That’s something we’ve been working on all year,” Green Valley coach Erin Hill said. “At the beginning of the season, we would get there — 17-all, 18-all, 20-all — and we would fade a little bit. We’ve worked all season long on finishing strong. The last three-quarters of the season, we’ve done well with that.”

The Northeast League champion Gators (27-7) will go for their fifth straight region title at 8 p.m. today at Legacy when they face rival Coronado (28-6). Green Valley won two of three matches against the Cougars this season.

“This was a great defensive match for us,” Hill said. “Foothill played very well. I thought our kids responded and brought a lot of energy to the court. The goal is to carry that through to (Friday’s) match.”

Foothill (17-14) hung close in the first set and the teams were tied at 17, but the Gators scored the next six points and Bridgette Dwyer’s tip closed out the set.

Green Valley opened the second set on an 11-2 run as the Gators’ block neutralized Foothill’s offense. They then jumped out to a 12-3 lead in the third set. Olivia Larson’s kill at the end of a long rally gave the Gators a 20-12 advantage in the third, before Dwyer put away the match winner.

“Volleyball is all about momentum, and we did have the momentum going into the second set,” Hill said. “They closed out and finished strong and brought a lot of pace.”

Dwyer finished with nine kills and had eight of Green Valley’s 19 blocks. Shanna Olsen had six kills and 10 digs, while Amanda Lake added 11 digs and three aces for the Gators.

Nicolette White had six kills and three blocks, and Olivia Stet recorded five kills and five digs to lead Foothill. Cailey Bean added 20 assists and 10 digs, while teammate Korina Bush led the defense with 23 digs.

“We expected if we push them, they’ll push right back,” Foothill coach Krysta Ortiz said. “I think the girls significantly improved from last year. We’re going to keep pushing for that region championship. Our focus is to do that as a program.”

Coronado 3, Basic 0 — At Legacy, Brooke Garlick had 12 kills and 10 digs, and Taylor Jackson notched 12 kills as the Cougars blanked the Wolves 25-14, 25-17, 25-9 in a semifinal.

The Cougars never trailed in the first set and pulled away in the second set after three straight aces by Emily Bender, which gave Coronado a 13-8 lead.

Cali Thompson recorded 43 assists to go along with two kills, three digs and two aces for the Southeast League champion Cougars. Teammate Berkeley Oblad added 10 kills, and Nikki Jackson finished with six kills, five aces and five blocks.

Kyla Bohannon led Basic (16-12) with five kills and seven digs. Kali Weires had five kills and three blocks, Autumn Philipczyk notched five kills, and Christina Kelley dished out 17 assists for the Wolves.