Balanced Wildcats trip Silverado in semifinals

Both Las Vegas High and Silverado cruised to 3-0 victories in the Sunrise Region boys volleyball quarterfinals.

Thursday's semifinals were a different story.

Las Vegas won the chance to play at least two more matches, clinching a spot in next week's state tournament with a 26-24, 25-17, 27-29, 21-25, 24-22 win over Silverado on Thursday at Palo Verde.

"We're all seniors, and we didn't want our last game to end like that," said middle hitter Chris Gbelay, who had 10 kills and five blocks. "We worked too hard for our season to be over."

Braeden Wilson led the Wildcats (18-2) with 20 kills and 18 digs, but it was opposite hitter Trevor Hardy who stole the show. Hardy threw down the 23rd point of the back-and-forth fifth game, and the Wildcats clinched the win on a service error.

"When Braeden gets going like that, it makes it easier for everyone to get open; he's such a dominant force on that one side," said Hardy, who finished with 15 kills and two blocks.

Luke Hansen had 59 assists and 18 digs for the Wildcats, who ran to a 2-0 lead on Gbelay's three kills and four blocks early in the match. Middle hitter James Joseph also notched four of his six blocks in the first two games.

Tyree Burton had 15 kills and four blocks, and Casey Hadland added 46 assists, seven kills and three blocks for the Skyhawks (16-4).

Las Vegas will face Coronado in the Sunrise championship at 5 p.m. today at Palo Verde.

■ Coronado 3, Rancho 0 -- The Cougars maintained their unbeaten season with a 25-12, 25-16, 25-22 sweep of the Rams to advance to the Sunrise title game.

Bryan Arana led Coronado (20-0) with 12 kills, and Hunter Chaney dished out 30 assists. Chris Andrulis had 10 kills and three aces, and Bryan Glenn added seven kills and three blocks for the Cougars.

David Silva had nine kills and two blocks for Rancho (15-5).

SUNSET REGION

■ Centennial 3, Bonanza 1 -- McKay Holley had eight kills off the bench in place of starter Matt Kurtz as the Bulldogs claimed a 25-23, 25-18, 21-25, 25-18 win over the Bengals.

"That was huge," Centennial coach Doug Day said of Holley's contribution. "We took our captain out and brought in McKay, who just gave us that spark and ignited us."

Dex Tidwell led the Bulldogs (17-3) with 11 kills, and Leo Durkin added 35 assists, three blocks and two aces for Centennial.

The Bengals (12-7) found new life in the third game, and Jared Harrington put up three of his game-high eight blocks and two of his 11 kills in the win.

Centennial will face Shadow Ridge in the Sunset Region championship match at 7 p.m. today at Palo Verde, but both teams will play in the state tournament, which begins Tuesday.

"It feels great (to clinch a state berth), but we want to win tomorrow so we can get the better seeding at state," the Bulldogs' Ryan Ramin said.

Jason Bedford led Bonanza with 12 kills and three blocks, and Dustin Tippetts dished out 22 assists for the Bengals.

■ Shadow Ridge 3, Palo Verde 0 -- Joe Pearson tallied 10 kills and three blocks to lead the Mustangs past the Panthers 27-25, 25-23, 25-22 and into the Sunset Region championship match.

Jake Shea added 11 kills for Shadow Ridge (19-1), and Jeremy Makaiwi dished out 36 assists. Thomas Rowan had five kills and four blocks, and Zach Hafen contributed seven kills.

Drew Topham led Palo Verde (13-7) with 12 kills and two blocks. Sean Wilson passed out 32 assists and tallied three kills, and Nick Hipwell had seven kills for the Panthers

Contact reporter Sean Walker at swalker@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0430.