Panthers, Bulldogs pull stunners

Shadow Ridge and Sierra Vista had combined to win 40 of 42 matches heading into the Sunset Region boys volleyball semifinals Thursday.

None of that mattered, as both teams' seasons were brought to a surprising end.

Palo Verde rolled to a 25-18, 25-23, 25-20 victory over previously unbeaten Shadow Ridge, and then Centennial stunned Sierra Vista in consecutive games, 25-21, 25-23, 25-19.

Palo Verde and Centennial will meet for the title at 7 p.m. today at Sierra Vista.

In the Sunrise Region, Las Vegas battled past Silverado, 23-25, 25-16, 25-17, 22-25, 15-10. The Wildcats will meet Coronado, which used a tough middle game to wear down Basic, 25-17, 25-11, 25-17.

Palo Verde's victory over Shadow Ridge (21-1) came less than a week after it wasted a Game 4 lead over the Mustangs during a five-game loss.

The Panthers (17-5) wanted one more chance and got their wish Thursday.

"We let one slip away last week, and we knew we could play with (Shadow Ridge)," said Tyler Capko, who had 16 kills for Palo Verde. "Today we came out with confidence that we can play with them.

"As the match went on, our confidence got bigger and bigger."

All four region finalists advance to the four-team state tournament.

• Centennial 3, Sierra Vista 0 -- Jeff Mecham had 29 assists as the Bulldogs (17-5) surprised the Mountain Lions (19-3).

"We did a solid job in the blocking department, and they never got things going," coach Scott Nelson said. "We didn't do a great job of passing the ball, which took our outside hitters out of the game.''

Drew Staker had 11 kills for Centennial, and teammate Blake Davidson supplied seven kills and five blocks.

• Las Vegas 3, Silverado 2 -- The Wildcats (18-4) used a surge in the final game to outlast the Skyhawks.

Braeden Wilson compiled 27 kills and 19 digs for Las Vegas, and Aaron Hansen added 17 kills, 12 digs and four blocks.

• Coronado 3, Basic 0 -- The Cougars (20-1) served 10 aces in their win over the Wolves.

Hunter Chaney had 21 assists, four digs and two aces. Chris Austin added 12 assists, eight kills and two aces.

Jenson Lavallee had 10 kills and five digs for Basic (15-7).