Gators top Skyhawks for Sunrise title

With Green Valley's girls volleyball team one point away from its second straight Sunrise Region championship, Emma Johnson blasted a hard kill that soared toward the back line.

"I wasn't sure it was going in, I'm not going to lie," Johnson said. "I was really lucky. I just wanted it down. ... It doesn't matter how we do it, (the ball) just has to go down."

Johnson nailed that shot inches inside the back line -- one of 10 kills on the night -- and the Gators came away with a 28-26, 25-19, 25-15 victory over Silverado in Friday's Sunrise title match at Las Vegas High.

The win sent the Gators to next week's state tournament in Reno and left Johnson, one of five seniors on the team, beaming as she stood in a crowd of celebrating players and students.

"It's a big deal, especially two years in a row," said Johnson, who also had two aces. "We (seniors) all knew it was our last year to play Gator volleyball, our last year to do anything. Everyone was very selfless, and were doing it for the seniors. We needed to lead them out -- this might be the last time we ever go with these people -- so let's just put it all out on the court."

The Skyhawks (20-13) took a 24-21 lead in the first game, but Johnson blasted a kill to start a 7-2 run, then dove for a dig that sailed over the net to give the Gators (27-9) the win.

Nikki Drost had nine kills and two aces for the Gators, who also got 25 assists from Jenna Swaffer and six kills and two blocks from Carly Schiess.

"It was crazy. (The first game) was back-and-forth, definitely a battle," Swaffer said. "It was a tough fight, but we pulled it out, came back up from being down. It was a great feeling, to pull it together as a team and get it back."

Green Valley coach Erin Hill said she used some blasts from the past to help inspire her team.

"Whenever it's tournament time, a special time of year for the Gators, your e-mails and texts are flooded with (messages from) old players," Hill said. "I printed a few of them, and read them to the kids. I said, 'This is the legacy that you're upholding.' And they were so psyched."

The Gators will play the loser of today's Northern Region final between Bishop Manogue and Galena, while the Northern champion will play Sunset Region champ Bishop Gorman.

SUNSET REGION

Liz Manthei had been waiting for Bishop Gorman's match against Centennial for quite some time.

The senior outside hitter/setter made the most of it, posting 23 kills and 15 assists to lead the Gaels (31-8) past the Bulldogs 25-23, 25-23, 24-26, 25-14 for the Gaels' second straight Sunset title.

"We've been waiting to play Centennial all year," Manthei said. "We knew they were our competition; we knew they were going to be hard to beat. We just came out and played strong. We couldn't let down."

Kylee Chun added 23 assists and five kills for Gorman, and Kylie Shaw had 13 kills, most of them off passes from Manthei.

"We've been playing together forever, so we know who's where, who to let have it, who to go to," Manthei said. "We just connect really well on the court."

The Gaels committed 10 hitting errors before winning the first game, then Manthei tied the second game at 23. The 6-foot senior then pounded the winning kill two points later.

But the Bulldogs (29-8) came roaring back late in the third game. Lacy Miyahira, who finished with 35 assists, had her only kill of the night on a dump that set up Kaitlin Kelly's game-tying 19th point, and Centennial held on for the 26-24 victory.

Gorman jumped out to a 16-10 lead in the fourth game after a six-point run sparked by two of Shelby Devlin's match-high six blocks, and the Gaels rolled to the 25-14 win that clinched egion title.

Breanna Rubalcaba served up four aces for the Gaels, and freshman Gianna Ruggeroli added six kills.

"The girls really worked hard all year to get where we've gotten to, and they've earned what they got," Gorman coach Ed Van Meetren said. "They worked to get it.

"Apparently, there's been a lot of trash-talking (with Centennial) on the social networking, and so they wanted an opportunity to go after it."

Shannon Brown had 10 kills for the Bulldogs, and Allison Tatom added nine kills and three blocks. Alex Johnson supplied five kills and six blocks for Centennial.

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