Palo Verde, Coronado claim titles

Adam Nieman and Howie Wu have different philosophies to setting the volleyball, but Friday night at Silverado, both of them worked.

Nieman and Palo Verde won the Sunset Region volleyball tournament with a 23-25, 25-20, 25-27, 25-12, 16-14 defeat of Centennial, and Wu and Coronado beat Las Vegas 25-21, 27-25, 21-25, 25-21 to claim the Sunrise Region.

Nieman's strategy: Spread the wealth among the team, mixing 53 assists all over the court.

Wu's tactic: Distribute to a pair of heavy hitters, doling 52 assists primarily to Eric Boman (25 kills) and Chris Austin (21 kills).

Either way, both theories paid off.

"It goes back to opening up the block, because they just throw up such a big block," Nieman said. "They know it was going to (outside hitter Tyler) Capko and were throwing different things at us, so I was sort of forced to spread it out.

"Capko is there for us if I need a bailout. He's able to put it down, but when the middles are going, I can spread it."

In Palo Verde's five-game Sunset Regional semifinal win over Sierra Vista on Thursday, Nieman fed Capko early and often in the deciding fifth game, with Capko notching seven kills. On Friday, though, Nieman balanced the Panthers' offense against the Bulldogs, finding three teammates three times apiece.

"Obviously, Capko is the go-to guy, but our biggest strength is being able to mix it up," said Palo Verde coach Phil Clarke, whose Panthers advanced to the state tournament against Las Vegas on Tuesday at Silverado. "Adam setting the ball around, that's probably his best asset as a setter, seeing where the mismatches are and taking advantage of them."

Coronado, with Boman and Austin almost taking turns at the net, took a 2-0 game lead against Las Vegas and secured the match with a Game 4 win, closing with a 10-4 run.

Cougars coach Brock Mitchell credited Wu, the Southeast Most Valuable Player, for his ability to pick his spots.

"Eric and Chris are our big guns, but you can only use them so much," Mitchell said. "Tonight, Howie made some good decisions. He's a smart kid. He knows when to go with your guns."