Coronado hopes to keep rolling in Sunrise tournament

Coronado enters the Sunrise Region boys volleyball playoffs as a team with balance, a team with chemistry, a team on a mission.

And a team with 18 straight wins.

But although the Cougars are arguably the area's hottest team -- having only dropped three games during the last month and finishing the regular season at 18-1 -- coach Brock Mitchell is not taking anything for granted.

"They know how well they've played; they know how important 18-1 is and 18 in a row is," Mitchell said of his players. "But they understand that one match ends their season. I know every time we step on the court, I'm relaxed that the guys can get it done.

"Now our guys want nothing more than to win these next five."

After rolling through the Southeast Division with a 14-0 mark, Coronado could be in for a wake-up call. Mitchell said the Southeast wasn't up to par this season and that the Cougars must step up to compete for the regional title. The Cougars play Rancho in the first round of the tournament, which begins Wednesday at Silverado. The Sunset Region tournament begins at 3:30 p.m. today at Silverado.

"Almost all these teams lost a lot of experience," said Mitchell, whose team fell in the Sunrise semifinals each of the last two seasons. "Our kids are somewhat naive. We only have five kids from varsity last year, and only one really played. We're coming in with those high expectations, but with nothing to lose. We're green to the fact that this is the biggest tournament."

Mitchell said Coronado will rely heavily on junior outside hitters Eric Boman and Chris Austin, and senior setter Howie Wu to advance farther this season. But he also said that this season's lineup is the best "team" he's had, and Boman echoed the sentiment.

"As a team, we trust each other a lot more," Boman said. "If you make a bad play, everyone comes to the middle, slaps hands, and it's on to next ball. That chemistry will override the lack of experience in the playoffs."

While Sunrise teams such as Coronado are battling a lack of experience, many Sunset squads don't have that issue, particularly in the Northwest Division.

Defending state champion Shadow Ridge (12-7) enters the playoffs as the Northwest's third seed at 10-4 in division play, behind co-champions Centennial (17-3) and Palo Verde (18-2).

The Bulldogs, led by seniors Spencer Olsen (outside hitter) and Chey McDonald (libero), and junior middle blocker Drew Staker, will contend with the Panthers and Mustangs, though Southwest Division champion Sierra Vista (17-2) will put up a fight.

"The teams in this division are pretty strong," said Centennial coach Scott Nelson, whose team advanced to the state title match in 2007. "Once we get into division play, we know we have six to eight matches that are going to be pretty competitive, that can go either way. Just that level of continuous competition really helps us."

Las Vegas coach Sue Thurman said she wishes the Sunrise Region had tougher opposition, but that three Northeast Division teams have raised their games.

"Rancho, Desert Pines, Canyon Springs -- they really picked up their level of play," said Thurman, whose Wildcats are 15 -4 and seeded first in the Northeast Division.