4A STATE: Coronado rallies to title

It might have been the only mistake tied to the junior opposite hitter all night.

Cucullu struck down the match-winning kill as part of his eight kills and three blocks to help the Cougars rally from two sets down for a 19-25, 21-25, 25-23, 25-23, 16-14 win over rival Silverado in the Class 4A boys volleyball state championship at Chaparral.

“It was probably the biggest kill of my high school career,” Cucullu said of the match-winner. “Once I saw that ball go up, my eyes doubled in size and I had to put it down, because I wanted a state championship.”

Cucullu blasted an unassisted kill to the middle of the court after appearing wide open on the outside of the net to cap an incredible rally for Coronado (18-5).

Austin Moiseyev had 22 kills and two blocks for the Cougars, and teammate Brandon Dau supplied 17 kills and 10 digs.

Moiseyev, who tallied 21 kills in Tuesday’s semifinal win over Shadow Ridge, had five of his kills in the third set as the Cougars fought back from the fast-starting Skyhawks (20-3).

“Last year, that feeling I felt, I didn’t want to have that feeling again,” Moiseyev said. “Even though we were down two, we fought hard.”

Coronado was playing in the title match for the fourth straight year, and the Cougars used their experience in fighting back for the win.

“I think it was satisifying to do it the way we did it, coming back from two-down,” Coronado coach Matt Johnson said. “Having been in that situation before, I know that it’s hard for Silverado. But we knew what we needed to get done.

“It was going to be gritty, it was going to be ugly; it wasn’t the prettiest volleyball game ever, and both sides were going at it. But the guys stepped up and fought.”

Hunter Witt had four of his 13 kills and two of his six blocks in the first set for Silverado, as the Skyhawks used an 8-2 run to overcome a 12-9 deficit and coast to the win.

Kyle Divicino then put down eight of his team-high 19 kills in the second set as Silverado had one hand on the winner’s trophy. The Skyhawks had defeated the Cougars three times this year, including a 3-0 sweep in the Sunrise Region title match Friday.

But the Cougars had other plans. Cucullu had two kills and a block to pace a 10-3 run that gave Coronado a 20-14 lead before hanging on in the third set, and a balanced offense led the Cougars to a fourth-set win behind five kills by Moiseyev, four by Dau and three by Jacob Pankey.

“It was tough,” Moiseyev said. “But I knew we had to pick it up and give everything we had, because we had been in the situation before.

“I couldn’t let the game go.”

That set up a fifth set that featured six ties and four lead changes before Moiseyev set up match point at 14-13, and Cucullu tabbed the wide-open winner after Silverado’s Witt staved off elimination.

“It’s the greatest feeling in the world,” Cucullu said. “There’s nothing better; I’m on top of the world, with the greatest feeling ever.”

Connor Stephenson dished out 50 assists for Coronado, and Coltin Romney had 14 digs.

Dakota Relle had 44 assists and two blocks for the Skyhawks. Teammate Curtis Hadland added nine kills, three blocks and two aces, and Indigo Varela served four aces.

“This was our fourth trip to the finals, and they should feel like it’s a big deal,” Johnson said. “We had a meeting today, about some people saying we were cursed. But we never used that word; those were former teammates that fought hard for us. We’ve been in the state championship match every year, and there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s something we should be proud of.”