Barnes rallies Bulldogs to final

With her team facing elimination at match point Thursday, Centennial captain Talia Barnes knew it was time to step up her game.

The senior middle blocker helped the Bulldogs complete an unlikely fourth-set rally before leading them through the decisive fifth set on the way to an 18-25, 25-14, 17-25, 26-24, 15-5 victory over Palo Verde in the semifinals of the Sunset Region tournament at Green Valley.

Centennial (19-14) will face Bishop Gorman (23-9) in the championship match at 8 p.m. today.

"I never thought anything was over," said Barnes, whose team trailed 24-21 in the fourth set. "I believe a game is never over until it's over. You can still win."

After Centennial cut its deficit to 24-23, Barnes came up with a momentum-swinging block that tied the score. A kill by teammate Kristi Farley moments later tied the match at two sets each.

Barnes, who finished with eight kills and five blocks, took over early in the tiebreaking set, logging two blocks and a kill to give the Bulldogs a 4-1 lead. An 11-4 scoring run followed to seal the win.

Centennial coach Scott Nelson said the rally came at the perfect time.

"That's our most significant win of the year," said Nelson, whose team was beaten 3-0 in the only regular-season match between the teams. "Clearly, Palo Verde earned the top seed. For us to win it is a big upset."

The Bulldogs seemed outmatched in the first set after the Panthers (22-9) rallied from an early deficit to complete the win with an 11-4 scoring spurt.

"The whole match was in short spurts," said Nelson, whose team took control of the second set early. "I knew it was going to come down to whoever got the last spurt. We happened to get one late in Game 4, and it carried into Game 5."

Raquari Gilliam helped the Bulldogs with nine kills. Nani Padilla had 11 digs, and Farley added 27 assists, three kills and three aces.

Kendall Cheval led the Panthers with 16 kills and two aces, and teammate McCall Phillips added 13 kills.

■ Bishop Gorman 3, Shadow Ridge 0 - Emma Filosi had 28 assists and Gianna Ruggeroli seven kills to lead the Gaels to a 25-17, 25-21, 25-18 sweep.

Alex Ruggero added 20 digs for Gorman, which rallied for seven consecutive points to win the final set.

Jasmine Burton led the Mustangs (21-14) with 24 digs, and teammate Ashley Smith had eight kills.

SUNRISE REGION

■ Coronado 3, Silverado 0 - Coronado coach Matt Johnson prepared his team to face Silverado with a single-faceted game plan - containing Skyhawks outside hitter Kayla Agae.

Johnson's plan worked to perfection, as Coronado recovered from a sluggish start to rout Silverado 25-22, 25-17, 25-19 in a Sunrise Region semifinal.

The Cougars (24-8) face Green Valley (31-4) in the title match at 6 p.m. today.

Though Agae managed eight kills, three aces and two blocks, she got little offensive help from her teammates.

"We knew Kayla had the ability to carry a team to victory," Johnson said. "But we also knew we had more weapons and versatility and a deeper bench."

Bench depth proved pivotal late in each set, as Silverado (11-7) kept scores close early before losing momentum.

Silverado's lone threat came when it jumped to a 6-3 lead in the first set and kept it close until the Cougars tied it at 21 before scoring four of the last five points.

Coronado had a seven-point run in the second set and an 8-1 run in the third.

Lia Herlosky had 10 kills, Cali Thompson 33 assists and four aces and Riley Lawrence 13 digs for Coronado.

■ Green Valley 3, Foothill 0 - Junior outside hitter Nikki Drost had 13 kills, nine digs and three aces to help the Gators sweep the Falcons, 25-19, 25-12, 25-15.

Jenna Swaffer helped Green Valley with 35 assists, and Carly Schiess added 11 kills, seven digs and four aces.

Zoe Wolfenbarger led Foothill (21-14) with 10 assists, nine kills and five digs. Samantha Colella added nine digs.

DIVISION I-A

■ Chaparral 3, Boulder City 2 - The Cowboys kept alive their chance to win their first state title since 1995 by rallying to upset Sunrise League champion Boulder City in the semifinals of the Division I-A Southern Region tournament at Chaparral, 22-25, 25-22, 25-16, 20-25, 15-9.

The Cowboys (23-12) will meet Sunset League champion Faith Lutheran (29-9) at 4 p.m. today at Green Valley. Regardless of the outcome, both teams qualify for next week's state tournament.

Down a set and trailing 18-8 in the second set, Chaparral fought back.

"It was all about heart, perseverance and fight," Cowboys coach Jay Renneker said. "We wanted it more than they did, and we kept fighting. The more the match wore on, the more confidence we gained."

Led by the play of Jaeda Allen, Chaparral won 17 of the next 21 points to tie the match at 1-1. In the third set, the Cowboys ran out to a 13-8 edge and didn't look back.

The Eagles battled back to win the fourth set, but the Cowboys closed out the match on a 7-0 run in the final set.

Katie Oliveria had 49 assists for Chaparral, while Allen finished with 36 kills, seven aces and three blocks. Rita Mesa-Mola added nine kills and four blocks, and Cheyenne Huntsman had 17 digs.

Avalon Frantz had 45 assists and six aces for Boulder City (28-8), which got 19 kills from Whitney Barlow and 31 digs from Kendall Miller.

■ Faith Lutheran 3, Moapa Valley 0 - Sam Leonard and Taylor Richards combined for 21 kills as the Crusaders rolled to a 25-15, 25-19, 25-14 victory.

Leonard had four aces to go with her 11 kills for Faith Lutheran. Gianni Perryman had 30 assists, and Taylor Hammer had eight kills and three blocks.

The Pirates (22-10) were led by Makenzie Bush with eight kills and Kimberly Lewis with three aces. Summer Owens added 18 digs and Bailey Owens three blocks for Moapa Valley.