REGION VOLLEYBALL: Green Valley ends drought, sweeps Rancho

Senior Beau Gronert remembers when Green Valley was one of the top boys volleyball teams in Southern Nevada, and he wants to return it to that level.

Gronert had 13 kills and two blocks as the Gators ran to a 25-16, 25-18, 25-12 win over Rancho in the Sunrise Region quarterfinals Tuesday at Las Vegas High.

"I just wanted to make the most of the opportunity that we had this year, and that we didn't have last year," said Gronert, whose team missed the 2010 playoffs by one spot. "With the players we have this year, and the way we work as a team, we're so much more tight. We want to take that as far as we can."

Green Valley (13-6) hadn't won a playoff match since 2007, and second-year coach Kevin Barney reminded his players of that fact in the past week.

"I'm fairly new there, but the seniors aren't," Barney said. "They've seen the program in lower states, and they really want to bring it back to be one of the best in Las Vegas. I told them the first step in that is taking care of business in the first round."

Nick Hevrin had 27 assists for Green Valley and also charged up his team by throwing himself at every loose ball and deep hit by Rancho (12-7).

"I've been hard on him all year because his defense hasn't been where it should be," Barney said of Hevrin. "Lately, I've really worked hard with him to make sure he's moving correctly. He did a lot better today. He still can improve, and he knows that, but without him we simply can't play our best volleyball."

Wesley Reed had five kills and three blocks and Dallas Tueller added five kills for the Gators, who will play Coronado at 5:20 p.m. Thursday at Las Vegas.

Guillermo Silva had six kills for Rancho, and Nathan Campo distributed nine assists. Sean O'Meara posted four blocks for the Rams.

■ Silverado 3, Valley 0 -- Kyle Divicino posted 10 kills, three aces and two blocks to lead the Skyhawks to a 25-8, 25-8, 25-21 win over the Vikings.

Dakota Relle had 20 assists for Silverado (17-2), and Ruben Jackson added five kills.

Ignacio Diaz had three kills and two blocks for Valley (12-6), which got 10 assists from Peter Nunes.

■ Coronado 3, Desert Pines 0 -- Jahren Makanoa served five aces to help the Cougars rout the Jaguars, 25-9, 25-9, 25-12.

Byrin Romney had 29 assists and four aces and Chris Andrulis added nine kills, three blocks and three aces for Coronado (16-3). The Cougars had 14 aces.

Austin Moiseyev had six kills and two blocks for Coronado.

Tony Savea had nine assists for Desert Pines (9-10), which got three kills apiece from C.J. Fletcher and Trevor Krystek.

■ Las Vegas 3, Basic 0 -- Tyler Crawford had 13 kills and two blocks to power the Wildcats to a 25-9, 25-17, 25-13 win over the Wolves.

Luke Hansen added 25 assists, six kills and three blocks for Las Vegas (18-1), and Ronnie Adams had eight kills and two blocks.

Basic's John Fitz had five assists, and Mark Bowman added two kills and three blocks. Weston Crum had two kills and two blocks for the Wolves (9-8).

SUNSET REGION

Offensive balance has helped Shadow Ridge's boys volleyball team rebuild quickly from last year's state championship season.

It also served the Mustangs well to start the postseason Tuesday.

Outside hitters Justin Kent and Brandon Fisher tallied 17 and 15 kills, respectively, to rally Shadow Ridge to a 19-25, 25-19, 25-12, 25-14 win over Spring Valley in the Sunset Region quarterfinals at Legacy.

"If we're all on, we can be a really good team and could beat pretty much anybody," said Kent, who added three aces. "Like Coach says, it takes will and determination to do it. That's all it is."

Shadow Ridge (14-5) advanced to meet rival and Northwest League champion Centennial (16-3) in the semifinals at 3:40 p.m. Thursday at Las Vegas High. The winner clinches an automatic trip to the state tournament.

Kent is the only returning starter from last year's state title team, but coach Christian Augustin is pleased with how quickly his team has progressed.

The Mustangs got seven kills from Quinn Skouson, six kills from Quyntin Starks and five kills from Collin Johnson.

"I'm very pleased with the development of our middles, Skouson and Johnson," Augustin said. "Both of them really open up the game for our outside hitters. When you start opening up that net, it makes a big difference."

Jalen Makaiwi dished out 27 assists for Shadow Ridge, and Braden Taylor had 19 assists. Cody Tesoro added 32 digs and three aces for the Mustangs.

After dropping the first set, Shadow Ridge closed the second on an 8-1 run to steal momentum. The Mustangs dominated the third and fourth sets, fittingly ending the match on a kill from Kent.

"Our setters were taking over," Kent said of Makaiwi and Taylor. "We just came together as a team after we had those beginning jitters."

■ Bonanza 3, Arbor View 0 -- Price Jarman racked up 18 kills, six blocks and two aces to carry the Bengals (19-0) to a 25-16, 25-16, 25-19 sweep of the Aggies (10-9).

Parker Evans supplied nine kills and 12 digs for Bonanza, and Jared Hyer added nine kills. Craig Whiting dished out 39 assists for the Bengals.

Bonanza will play Palo Verde (15-4) at 7 p.m. Thursday at Las Vegas High with a trip to state on the line.

Genaddy Shataev led Arbor View with 10 kills and 10 digs, and Kealyn Butler tallied 10 kills and eight digs. Dylan Mengert had six kills and five blocks for the Aggies.

■ Centennial 3, Clark 1 -- Leo Durkin had 15 kills, 17 assists and four aces to help the Bulldogs hold off the Chargers, 25-21, 23-25, 25-13, 27-25.

A Centennial hitting error gave Clark a 25-24 lead in the fourth set, but Durkin answered with a kill and two consecutive aces to end the match.

Dylan Morris had eight kills and three aces for Centennial, and Dustin Buell contributed nine kills and three blocks.

George Huang paced Clark (9-10) with 14 kills and three blocks. David Samson had 32 assists for the Chargers.

■ Palo Verde 3, Sierra Vista 0 -- Brandon King had 13 kills as the Panthers rolled to a 25-9, 25-9, 25-22 sweep of the Mountain Lions (8-11).

Sean Wilson had 23 assists and seven digs for Palo Verde.

Cameron Carlson paced Sierra Vista with eight kills.