SUNSET REGION: Hill serves notice as Centennial moves into final
Ashley Hill didn’t think she served well in Centennial's volleyball team's Sunset Region quarterfinal win over Pahrump Valley on Tuesday.
The senior libero made up for it Thursday.
Hill had six aces, 28 digs and four kills in leading Centennial (29-7) to a 25-19, 22-25, 25-15, 25-23 win over Sierra Vista (23-4) in the region semifinals at Las Vegas High.
Centennial will meet Bishop Gorman on Friday at 7 p.m. for the region crown and a berth in the state semifinals.
“I knew on our playoff game the day before we broke down on our serves. We kept missing serves,” Hill said. “I knew I had to pull it out for my team. I had to go back there and be a leader. I’m one of the captains, so I had to show what I’ve got. I had to step it up, and I feel like I did.”
Hill served for 10 straight points in the decisive third game, when she delivered four aces and gave the Bulldogs a 21-14 lead.
After Centennial took the first game, Brooke Robinson’s three kills and Allison Herold’s back-to-back spikes led the Mountain Lions on a 9-3 run to end the second with a 25-22 win that left the teams tied at a game apiece.
Sierra Vista appeared to take control of the third game, jumping to a 14-11 lead before Hill stepped up to the service stripe.
Junior outside hitter Kaitlin Kelly had 12 kills — including seven in the first game — to go with three aces for the Bulldogs, and Lacy Miyahira added 33 assists and two kills.
Allison Tatom supplied eight blocks and five kills for Centennial.
Robinson finished with 18 kills, and Morgan Malone had 35 assists for Sierra Vista.
Bishop Gorman 3, Faith Lutheran 1 — Liz Manthei’s 16 kills, 12 assists and five blocks rallied the Gaels to a 24-26, 25-20, 25-10, 25-13 win over the Crusaders in the other Sunset semifinal.
Freshman Gianna Ruggeroli and senior Kylie Shaw each added 10 kills for Gorman (30-8), and Kylie Chun had 32 assists and seven kills.
Shelby Devlin had six blocks for Gaels, and Anna Dondero added four.
Kelsey McCourt led Faith Lutheran (23-11) with 18 assists, Taylor Richards added 10 kills and Taylor Hammer supplied four kills and four blocks.
