SUNRISE REGION: Dau gets coach’s message, leads Cougars to state berth

Coronado boys volleyball coach Matt Johnson took a timeout late in the second set Thursday to let his team know it wasn’t meeting its potential, and somebody needed to step up after Las Vegas High took a lead.

At least, that’s how outside hitter Brandon Dau remembered it.

And he took it personally.

Dau put down six of his match-high 13 kills in the second set to help the Cougars come back, and Coronado downed the Wildcats, 25-15, 26-24, 25-22 in a Sunrise Region semifinal at Legacy.

“He really came at us,” Dau recalled. “He said, 'You guys have got to push it through. There’s no reason why you guys can’t take this; this is our match. Just keep it together.’”

Consecutive kills by Levi Mackelprang and Garrett Jones helped the Wildcats (18-2) to a 22-18 lead in the second set, and Johnson used his final timeout to send his team a message.

Dau put down back-to-back kills, and the Cougars (16-4) forced three Las Vegas errors during a 6-1 run to retake a lead and hold off the Wildcats to go up two sets.

Coronado clinched a berth in its fifth straight Class 4A state tournament. The Cougars will play Silverado (18-2) in the Sunrise Region championship at 7 p.m. today, with both teams heading to state next week at Chaparral.

“I’ve just been so fortunate with my team,” said Dau, a senior team captain. “Every year, we get a great squad, and I’m so lucky to have the guys around me. Especially this year, it’s something really special.

“Being a senior and being a captain, it made me feel like I had to lead the team and take over at crucial times. But we all work together, and we all get it done when it needs to happen.”

Coronado breezed to a first-set win behind four kills from Austin Moiseyev and three aces from setter Connor Stephenson.

But the Wildcats came back strong, utilizing a 5-1 run sparked by Jones to take a 17-14 lead midway through the second set before Dau’s heroics.

“He has that ability,” Johnson said of Dau. “It’s a good time to start realizing that ability that he has; it’s a good time to start utilizing (his clutch instincts).”

Moiseyev finished with 12 kills, and Stephenson had 36 assists and three aces for Coronado.

“(Moiseyev is) our most athletic guy,” Johnson said. “He’s a basketball player by nature, but he goes out there and hits the ball and has a good time. It definitely helps to have another go-to guy.”

Timmy McMoore-Tuamoheloa added four blocks for the Cougars.

Jones led Las Vegas with 11 kills, and Jace Turner added 10 kills and two blocks. Mackelprang had eight kills, and Evany Diaz distributed 30 assists for the Wildcats.

Silverado 3, Green Valley 1 — Curtis Hadland had 22 kills and three blocks as the Skyhawks eliminated the Gators (12-8).

Kyle Divicino added 17 kills and two blocks for Silverado, which got 45 assists from Dakota Relle and eight kills from Hunter Witt.

Donovan Santos had 33 assists to fuel a balanced offense for Green Valley. Jake Johnson supplied nine kills and three blocks, and James Byrne had nine kills and three aces for the Gators.

Dimitri Santos and Wesley Reed each contributed seven kills and two aces for Green Valley.