Sierra Vista boys mount comeback in match, season
Sierra Vista’s boys volleyball team expected to rebuild this year.
After an 0-4 start, the reconstruction is progressing nicely for the Mountain Lions. They handed Bonanza its first loss and improved to 4-0 in Southwest League play Friday by rallying for a 22-25, 13-25, 25-14, 25-21, 16-14 victory.
“In the first game, we had a lot of unforced errors, and missed a couple of serves,” said senior Cody Saeger, Sierra Vista’s lone returning starter from a team that went unbeaten in the league last year. “We came back the second game a bit flat, started to get after each other and shut down. But after the second game, we knew we had to step it up, play as a team, go for it hard and get the win.”
Saeger, a middle blocker, had 14 kills, seven blocks and two aces to lead the Mountain Lions (4-4, 4-0 Southwest), who compiled 11 aces.
“We have a saying on our team that is 'Not on our touch,’ and I really applied that to how I was playing (after the second game),” Saeger said. “I was going to be the factor for the success of our team, and play as hard as I can.”
The Bengals (3-4, 3-1) went on an 8-1 run to end the first game, with senior Jared Harrington supplying three kills, three aces and two blocks in the first two games. The senior middle hitter finished with five kills, five blocks and three aces.
“It was the all about the fundamentals. Once that started to click, we were able to compete,” Sierra Vista coach Camille McComas said. “But we were streaky. I thought Bonanza played well. It could’ve gone either way.”
The Lions finished the third game on a 10-2 streak, led by setter Preston Miranda, who finished with 27 assists, seven kills and four aces.
In the fourth and fifth games, junior middle blocker Khrumm Fahim took over at midcourt, where he secured most of his 10 kills, three blocks and three aces.
“(Saeger is) definitely our leader, but I’m more impressed with the team,” said McComas, who pointed to Fahim’s contributions. “It was very much a team win.”
Starting the season with losses to Silverado, Green Valley, Centennial and Shadow Ridge helped the Mountain Lions once league play began, McComas said.
“You need to know what’s out there, so that it’s not so scary,” McComas said. “We’re definitely getting better, but we’re not there yet. We’ve improved a ton. But we have a long way to go.”
Outside hitter Jason Bedford had 11 kills and two aces for the Bengals, and setter Dustin Tippetts dished out 29 assists.
