Mustangs to face Longhorns in Sunset final

According to Shadow Ridge boys volleyball coach Travis Underwood, the Mustangs have taken a dark-horse role, always flying under the radar as far as recognition goes.

Even the Mustangs faithful chant the word dark horse several times during their matches.

But Shadow Ridge played more like a contender Thursday at the Sunset Region tournament, whipping Northwest Division champion Palo Verde 3-1 at Las Vegas High.

The Mustangs (13-5) will face Legacy (25-3) at 7 p.m. today in the region final. Both teams qualify for next week’s state tournament.

The Panthers were impressive early on, using kills from Michael Simister and James Clawson to take the first set 25-15.

But the Mustangs picked themselves off the floor, and once righting the ship, Palo Verde had no answer.

“The last meeting with Palo really helped us,” said Underwood, whose team pushed the Panthers to five games in their last matchup. “We learned a lot from that game. The kids believed they could play with Palo, and it showed tonight.”

Panthers coach Phil Clarke agreed.

“They played better, it’s that simple,” he said. “It’s tough knowing you can play much better. It just wasn’t our night.”

Shadow Ridge won the next three sets 25-19, 25-20 and 25-23.

Quinn Peterson led the Mustangs with 27 kills, and teammate N.J. Makaiwi had 48 assists. A.J. Makaiwi was huge on the defensive end with a team-high 45 digs.

For Palo Verde, Andrew Weston had 36 assists, and Clawson and Simister combined for 30 kills.

■ Legacy 3, Arbor View 1 — After dropping the first set, Legacy used its experienced front line to rally past Arbor View 17-25, 25-15, 25-22, 25-19.

Tanner and Trent Compton led the way for the Longhorns. Tanner Compton had 17 kills and 12 digs, and Trent Compton had 15 kills, four aces and eight digs.

Braden Liu had 42 assists, five digs and two aces for Legacy, and Anthony Cabrera had 17 digs.

SUNRISE REGION

Valley boys volleyball coach Matt Porter has stressed to his Vikings to “play in the moment” on many occasions during the season.

His team heeded that advice Thursday at the Sunrise Region tournament, and now Valley’s remarkable season continues.

The Vikings jumped to a two-set lead against defending state champion Coronado in the semifinals and never looked back in earning the school’s first trip to the state tournament with a 25-18, 25-23, 19-25, 25-22 win at Las Vegas High.

Valley (18-7) will meet host Las Vegas (19-5) in the region final at 5 p.m today.

“What a feeling; it’s simply awesome,” Porter said.

The Vikings’ biggest weapon, senior Jack Heavey, led the charge with 27 kills, 16 in the first two sets.

“Jack is a special player,” Porter said. “He just brings so much to the table. No team can win without great players, and Jack is certainly special.”

Heavey got help from Matthew Ballaro and Zack Ross, who combined for 23 kills. Alex Sandoval added 46 assists.

“Valley certainly earned this today,” Coronado coach Matt Johnson said. “We didn’t give it to them. Valley had much more emotion on the big points, but give our kids credit because they fought to the end.”

Max Osmundson had 25 kills and 13 digs for Coronado (26-9), and Travis Boman added 18 kills and five digs. Sam Cox had 12 digs and Logan Dickover 57 assists for the Cougars.

■ Las Vegas 3, Foothill 0 — Chris Kampshoff had 17 kills to lead the Wildcats to a 25-14, 25-23, 38-36 victory over the Falcons to claim their first state berth in four years.

The third set was perhaps the best set of the day, as both teams traded punches during the 40-minute affair. Chris Marx’s block on Las Vegas’ 14th match point final downed the Falcons.

“It was probably the best game I’ve been a part of,” Las Vegas coach Sue Thurman said.

T.J. Esporas added 15 kills, and Shayne Marquez had 44 assists for the Wildcats, who will face Valley for the third time this season.

Colin Curi had 12 kills and an ace for Foothill (11-9), and teammates Steve Robison and Weston Lott each had 11 kills.