Silverado gets defensive

Silverado came prepared to take everything a 6-foot-6-inch girl could dish out and then some.

It just so happened that "then some" was a state title.

The Skyhawks put together a defensive masterpiece, shutting down Durango weapon Hayley Spelman to win the Class 4A girls volleyball state championship on their home court.

Silverado claimed its first girls volleyball crown with a 25-23, 25-21, 25-19 victory.

"The girls knew that defense was going to win this match," Silverado coach Jenn Boeddeker said. "We were ready today to take anything they were going to put at us."

The Skyhawks (21-1) sacrificed their bodies to keep potential kills in play and always seemed to be in the right position for blocks.

That made Spelman, normally a monster on the court with her height and power, far more mortal.

Spelman still had 19 kills and nine digs but had a number of balls blocked and a bigger handful fly into the net or out of bounds.

"I don't think we had much variety," Durango coach Robert Kelly said. "A lot of it relies on her, and that's hard. She carried it very well today."

In short, the Skyhawks frustrated arguably one of the best players in the area.

"We knew we had to try to shut her down," Silverado sophomore Kaitlin Keathley said.

Keathley had six blocks, including four straight early in the third game when Silverado opened an 8-1 lead.

"She's an amazing hitter, but Kaitlin had her number tonight," Boeddeker said.

The balls that weren't blocked were repeatedly dug.

Spelman's power is enough to scare many players. The Skyhawks didn't budge.

"We just tried to stop every ball," said sophomore Taylor Richard, who finished with 11 digs.

The Skyhawks trailed 21-18 in the first game but rallied for a 24-23 lead behind three kills from Richard, an ace and two errors by Durango (22-3).

Jessica Schmidt's kill down the middle finished the first game.

The Skyhawks overcame an early deficit to take a 15-8 lead in the second game and hung on, securing the win on a kill by Patti Flagg.

Silverado never trailed in the clinching game and began to celebrate its title when Keathley completed the match with a kill.

"It's amazing," Richard said while barely holding back tears. "It's the best feeling in the world."

Durango snapped the Skyhawks' four-year-long regular-season winning streak at the beginning of this season.

"We really wanted to show them that we deserved this," Keathley said.

• Pahranagat Valley 3, Owyhee 1 -- Jadey Jones had 24 kills, 12 digs and nine aces to help Pahranagat Valley top defending champion Owyhee 25-17, 22-25, 25-18, 25-21 in the Class 1A final.

Pahranagat Valley won nine straight 1A crowns until Owyhee broke the streak last season. Lauren Leavitt added 13 kills and 14 digs for the Panthers.

• Whittell 3, Needles 2 -- Jordan Reeder's 19 kills, 12 assists and 12 digs allowed Whittell to hold off Needles 25-23, 25-19, 17-25, 16-25, 15-12 to claim the school's fifth straight Class 2A crown.

• Yerington 3, Truckee 1 -- Kayla Lommori pounded 26 kills as Yerington repeated as Class 3A champion. Truckee won the teams' previous four meetings this season.