ROUNDUP: Drost, Green Valley girls overcome Skyhawks in victory

Heading into Thursday’s match, the Green Valley girls volleyball team hadn’t dropped a single set to a Northeast League opponent during the regular season.

And following the first two sets, last year’s Class 4A state champion Gators seemed poised to keep that impressive streak alive. 

However, in a battle of the league’s top two teams, Silverado had other plans. Rallying from a 15-8 deficit in the third set, the Skyhawks stormed back to tie it at 22 before eventually grabbing their first lead of the match en route to a 26-24 win. 

“We just underestimated them,” Green Valley junior Nikki Drost said. “We thought we were going to win, and we just let them beat us.”

Despite the strong showing from the Skyhawks, the Gators (27-4, 8-0 Northeast) managed to overcome the set loss on their way to a resilient 25-15, 25-15, 24-26, 25-15 home victory.

“I thought Silverado came out and played great,” Green Valley coach Erin Hill said.

Drost registered a match-high 22 kills, including eight in the first set which the Gators opened with a 7-1 run. She also added eight digs.

“I thought in the first couple of sets we passed really well,” Hill said. “I thought in the third set our passing broke down a little bit and the communication broke down a little bit. Those are two things that we have to work on to make sure they are consistent.”

Green Valley climbed back early in the fourth set, when it took advantage of a seven-point run to pull away from the Skyhawks. Jenna Swaffer tallied 46 assists for the Gators, and teammate Carly Schiess notched 16 kills and seven digs.

“It tells a little about the character in how they bounced back and it show resiliency,” Hill said. “They came back very well in the fourth game.”

Senior Kayla Agae had 11 kills and 15 digs for Silverado (8-6, 6-2 Northeast), and junior Morgan Little contributed 26 assists. Amari Norris added seven kills and five blocks for the Skyhawks.

Palo Verde 3, Shadow Ridge 2 — At Palo Verde, McCall Phillips had 13 kills and 17 digs to lead the Panthers to a 25-21, 17-25, 26-24, 17-25, 16-14 victory over the Mustangs.

Stephanie Herman had 46 assists, four aces, three kills and nine digs, and Kendall Cheval had 20 kills, four aces and five digs for Palo Verde, which got 27 digs from Faryn Duncan.

Ashley Smith led Shadow Ridge with 19 kills and 15 digs. Niehely Sosa added 14 kills and two blocks, and Olivia Denny had 44 assists for the Mustangs.

Sierra Vista 3, Durango 1 — At Sierra Vista, Kiana Taitano racked up 20 digs and two aces, and Kara Felise contributed 18 assists and five digs in the Mountain Lions’ 25-8, 25-16, 18-25, 25-11 win over the Trailblazers.

Bailey Bergquist had seven kills and three blocks, and Sydney Land added five kills and three blocks for Sierra Vista.

Precious Williams had 16 digs and seven kills, and Hailee Wilson added 12 digs and five kills for Durango. Carly Taylor had 12 assists for the Trailblazers.

Pahrump Valley 3, Western 1 — At Western, Bryanna Soliwoda had 15 assists as the Trojans defeated the Warriors, 19-25, 25-23, 25-11, 25-15.

Lauren Koenig supplied five kills, and Nikkole Grajales added three aces for Pahrump.

Aleya Ford-Wheaton had seven kills, and Paea Savou supplied nine assists and two kills to lead Western, which got five kills from Capricia Pierce.

Rancho 3, Valley 1 — At Valley, Kanosha Gray had four kills and five blocks to lead the Rams over the Vikings, 25-21, 25-18. 19-25, 25-18.

Sydnee Stankosky contributed five kills for Rancho, and teammate Monet Wilson had nine assists.

Gabby Cabanero had 10 kills, and Taylor Sandhu had  21 assists and seven digs for Valley. Chantelle Rigby added seven kills, and Diva Carter had four kills and seven digs for the Vikings.

Arbor View 3, Spring Valley 0 — At Spring Valley, Kayla Papuga collected seven kills, two aces and 21 digs as the Aggies defeated the Grizzles, 25-15, 25-16, 25-17.

Chrissy Blazek had five aces and 28 digs, and Jenna McClure had eight kills and 10 digs.

Jessica Rafay had seven kills, six assists, eight digs, and four blocks for Spring Valley. Rachel Milam added three kills and 12 digs, and Casey Vanhoose had four kills and six digs for the Grizzlies.

Clark 3, Mojave 0 — At Clark, June Roberts had seven kills and  seven aces to lead the Chargers in a sweep of Mojave, 26-24, 25-14, 25-17.

Chaz Perez had 17 assists and eight aces for Clark, and teammate Schea Mores contributed 19 digs.

Rebecca Espinoza led the Rattlers with three aces and four digs. Pamela Martin and Ashley Persico each added eight digs for Mojave.

Las Vegas 3, Canyon Springs 0 — At Canyon Springs, Matti Ventling supplied 22 assists and seven digs to help lead the Wildcats to a 25-16, 25-19, 25-13 sweep of the Pioneers.

Charlai Francis put down 10 kills, and Marissa Lair and Katrina Avila each added seven kills for Las Vegas.

Summer Asturi had 11 digs, and Tea Rivera added eight assists for Canyon Springs, which got seven kills from Emily Tuala.

Mountain View 2-2, Adelson School 0-0 — At Mountain View, Alley Cintron and Mallori Mauck each had seven kills to lead the Saints to the sweep, 25-6, 25-20 and 25-9, 25-9.

Elle Germany had eight aces for Mountain View.