Valley rebounds for sweep of Desert Pines

Valley’s boys volleyball team knew it needed a shot of confidence after two surprising losses to start Northeast League play.

The Vikings might have gotten it with a road victory on Tuesday.

Ignacio Diaz had 13 kills and five aces as Valley blitzed host Desert Pines, 25-14, 25-22, 25-2.

Both teams were riding dramatically different streaks entering the match, with the Vikings (5-2, 2-2 Northeast) losing two of their past three and Desert Pines (5-3, 3-1) riding a five-match win streak.

“After losing to Rancho, we knew we had to step it up with a big week this week,” said Diaz, whose team opened with upset losses to the Rams and Sunrise Mountain. “(Desert Pines) and Vegas were two big games.

“Winning this game puts us in a big place right now.”

Diaz helped Valley break out to a 9-3 start in the first set, and the Vikings ended the set on a 9-1 run behind four kills from Diaz and two kills and two aces by Lawrence Palma.

Palma finished with eight kills to add to a match-high six aces as Valley regained its form from a 3-0 start to the season.

“We just didn’t play like we knew we could” in losses to Sunrise Mountain and Rancho, Valley coach Matt Porter said. “(Diaz) had almost 15 kills tonight, but he didn’t even get to double digits there.”

The Vikings built an 8-5 lead after an 8-2 run near the start of the second set and then overcame a late Jaguars rally after taking a 24-19 lead.

Desert Pines’ Trevor Krystek, who finished with three kills and three aces, did most of his damage during the Jaguars’ 6-1 run to take a 6-4 lead in the third, but Valley tied the set at 15 on an ace by Peter Nunes and took the lead for good at 19-15 following Palma’s sixth ace.

The Vikings served 18 aces to Desert Pines’ six and used each one to build momentum for a longer run.

“Getting aces just feels good,” Diaz said. “It gives us a big hype, gives the whole team a big hype. With our team’s confidence and the hype, it can give us big wins. That’s all it comes down to.”

Nunes finished with 26 assists and two aces for the Vikings. Chris Hicks added five kills and four blocks for Valley, which hosts defending Northeast champion Las Vegas High on Thursday.

Tony Savea had 13 assists for Desert Pines, and Mike Gipson added eight digs.