DIVISION I-A VOLLEYBALL: Rattlers sharp in tourney opener

After posting a combined 1-31 record the past two seasons, first-year coach Erik Davis realized turning the Mojave boys volleyball program around wasn’t going to be easy. 

But following Monday’s Division I-A state quarterfinal, the Rattlers are making it look simple.

Jovan Carrazco had 30 assists, and Matt Albinio and Christian Limtiaco each supplied 10 kills to propel Mojave past Sunrise Mountain, 25-14, 25-12, 25-14 at Chaparral.

The Rattlers (15-7), who made their first postseason since 2004, face Chaparral (8-3) in a semifinal at 2 p.m. today at Chaparral.

“For me it was what I looked forward to the most coming to Mojave,” Davis said of the program’s condition. “To take a school that was considered one of the worst volleyball school’s in the city and now have them as a No.1 seed and competing for a state championship, it’s an unbelievable feeling for me and for them.”

Mojave, powered by a dominating front row performance from Albinio and Limitaco, used a 7-4 run to close out the first set.

Limtiaco went on to register five kills in the third set. 

“Our guys are just excited to be here and take advantage of the opportunity to be in this situation,” Davis said. “They’re just competitors and they want to go out there and win.”

Jordan Briggs had three kills and four blocks for Sunrise Mountain (1-13), which appeared in the its first playoff match.

Clark 3, Desert Pines 0 — Jerhemy Babers supplied five kills and six blocks as the Chargers swept the Jaguars, 25-19, 25-21, 25-18.

Walt Benda added nine kills and three aces for the Chargers (5-11).

Joel Perez paced Desert Pines (6-14) with five blocks, and teammate Bryan Garcia added three kills and three blocks.

Tech 3, Cheyenne 0 — Joshua Wood provided 31 assists, four kills and six aces to help power the Roadrunners past the Desert Shields, 25-19, 29-27, 25-17.

After leading 7-2 early in the third set, Tech (16-1) overcame a five-point deficit in the middle of the set to rally back and take control.

Tyler Gardenhire had 14 kills for the Roadrunners, and teammates Omar Mena and Bryan Catenza each added seven kills.  

Darius Gantt led Cheyenne (4-15) with eight kills.

Chaparral 3, Western 1 — Pierce Morgan had 30 assists, four kills, four blocks and four aces to help the Cowboys hold off the Warriors 25-18, 25-18, 21-25, 26-24.

After Chaparral breezed to easy wins in the first two sets, Western (4-13) used a 6-0 run at the end of the third to grab the set.

Vadell Wilson, who finished with 19 assists and seven blocks, registered three of his 13 kills during the spurt. 

The lead changed hands seven times in the fourth set, before Josiah Wagge’s kill and Meldrick Nava’s match-point ace capped the victory.

“I’m only going to say one thing,” Cowboys coach Jay Renneker said. “It’s always nice to win the first (match), but we only care about the next one.”

Dominic Carr supplied 10 kills and three blocks for the Cowboys, who got nine kills from Matt Sanger.