Homeyer’s second-chance kill pushes Sierra Vista past Bonanza

Kohl Homeyer doesn’t golf for Sierra Vista, but he has heard of mulligans.

So after hitting the potential winning shot out of bounds, Homeyer was quick to instruct his setter to give him another chance.

The result? Back-to-back kills to give the Mountain Lions a match-extending victory in Game 4 on their way to a 23-25, 25-20, 16-25, 26-24, 15-13 win over visiting Bonanza on Wednesday.

Sierra Vista (18-2, 14-0) won the Southwest League title with its second win of the season over the Bengals (15-4, 12-2).

“I usually don’t miss. I’m usually a pretty solid hitter,” Homeyer said. “So I just wanted the next ball. I told my setter, 'Give me the ball.’ ”

After Sierra Vista setter Zach Waldron put the ball in the air for Homeyer, the only play he saw was a small tip-shot over the Bonanza blockers.

“I had nowhere to go,” Homeyer said. “All I could do was just push off his hands. It was so awesome because that was the only thing I could do and it worked.”

After breaking the tie, Homeyer got one more kill to settle Game 4. He finished the match with 19 kills.

Sierra Vista coach Camille McComas said she didn’t need to talk up Homeyer after his out-of-bounds hit.

“Did I have something to say? No, because he’s been a kid who’s real competitive and has great vision,” McComas said. “He doesn’t have any fear and he’s a go-for-it kind of kid. I’m just really impressed throughout the year. He’s little, but he plays pretty big for us.”
Homeyer said he felt the match was on cruise control from there."

“I said (during intermission), 'We have the momentum, we just have to play our own game and we’ll win,’ ’’ Homeyer said.

The Lions won Game 5 with less fanfare. Though neither team was able to establish more than a two-point lead, Sierra Vista took control after picking up three straight points for a 6-4 lead. Marvi Sanchez made the game-winning kill.

Bonanza got off to a hot start, winning Game 1, 25-23, and using a 10-1 run to take Game 3, 25-16.

“We have a young squad. (Our players) showed it a little bit tonight and that’s OK,” Bonanza coach Erik Davis said. “We didn’t take advantage of opportunities, but that’s all right. It’s a learning process and they’re learning every single match.”

In the third game, Bonanza’s Price Jarman had three kills and two blocks to give the Bengals an 18-11 lead. He finished with 17 kills and three blocks.

Jason Bedford closed out the game with a kill and two aces, including the game-winner. He finished with 10 kills and three aces.