SUNSET VOLLEYBALL: Smith takes over, Mustangs eliminate Bengals

Shadow Ridge’s Ashley Smith had seen enough Tuesday afternoon in the opening round of the Sunset Region girls volleyball tournament at Legacy.

Her Mustangs, seeded second from the Northwest League, had let the Southwest’s No. 3 seed Bonanza hang around long enough.

With the teams tied 15-all in the fourth set, Smith took over.

She served three straight winning points for the Mustangs, and then was involved in five of the team’s last seven points en route to the match-clinching win. Shadow Ridge defeated Bonanza (14-25, 25-19, 25-16 and 25-20) to advance to Thursday’s semifinals, where it will face Southwest No. 1 Bishop Gorman at 2 p.m.

“The girls on our team know that if we need to get a point or if we’re in a crucial part of the game, that Ashley’s gonna get the ball,” Shadow Ridge coach Karissa Guthrie said. “We don’t make it any secret, our opponents know she’s going to get the ball and we just hope that she’ll produce like she does.”

With Shadow Ridge (19-11) leading 18-16, Smith saved a shot headed toward her team’s bench to keep the volley alive, allowing the Mustangs to eventually get the point and go back up three. Shadow Ridge went up 21-16 before exchanging points with Bonanza (13-15) down the stretch. Smith’s tear drop over the Bonanza defenders, who were expecting a spike, gave the Mustangs a 24-18 lead. Her booming shot from the left side then gave the Mustangs the match victory.

“Every time we’re down, and we get down, I try to push the team to shake it off and remind them we can do better than we’re doing,” Smith said. “I felt like I needed to be a leader on the team, even if we’re down, I just need to push the team to be our best.”

Shadow Ridge faced an uphill battle heading into the postseason, missing senior Dana Christensen, who suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament last month against Palo Verde. Smith knew she would be relied upon with Christensen out.

“I felt like I needed to take over the team more to make up for her (absence),” Smith said.

Added Guthrie: “Our team can rise and fall with Ashley. (She) takes that responsibility on her shoulders and she runs with it, she does a great job with it.”

Centennial 3, Arbor View 1 — Kristi Farley had 43 assists, five aces and three kills, and Nani Padilla Perez added 13 kills, one ace and eight digs to lead the Bulldogs past the Aggies, 25-14, 25-10, 23-25, 25-20.

Cristina Owens had 13 kills and four blocks, and Cydni Long finished with 10 kills and two blocks for the Bulldogs (21-11).

Jenna McClure paced the Aggies (21-13) with 31 assists and four aces, Tamani Simmons had 16 kills and two aces and libero Karli Beas had 21 digs and three aces.

Centennial will face Palo Verde (32-4) at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday.

Palo Verde 3, Legacy 0 — The top-seeded Panthers wasted no time in their opening round match, defeating the Longhorns, 25-12, 25-5, 25-12.

Stephanie Herman had 23 assists and three digs to lead Palo Verde. Kendall Cheval (10 kills, five aces), McCall Phillips (eight digs, two kills), Jenna Bobroski (seven digs, five aces), and libero Faryn Duncan (nine digs) also contributed for the Panthers.

Ashly Goor led Legacy (7-18) with three kills, two digs and two blocks, and Kassidy DeSchepper had five digs for the Longhorns.

Bishop Gorman 3, Durango 0 — The Southwest No. 1 Gaels survived an interesting third set to eliminate the Trailblazers, 25-11, 25-15, 31-29.

Gianna Ruggeroli had 10 kills and seven digs to lead the Gaels (27-7). Gorman also got strong contributions from Shelly Laman (12 digs), Emma Filosi (23 assists, three kills) and Emma Kirst (nine kills, two blocks).

Cheyanne Haas had five kills and eight digs for Durango, which also got four blocks from Kat Jaksic.