Spring Valley slips past Bonanza in boys volleyball

Spring Valley senior Kyle Christensen felt like he was in the zone.

Apparently, so was the rest of the Grizzlies’ boys volleyball team.

The senior middle blocker had 13 kills and 12 blocks to lead Spring Valley past host Bonanza 25-21, 16-25, 22-25, 25-23, 15-10 on Thursday. It was the first victory over the Bengals in Grizzlies history.

“You always want to establish the middles to open up the outside hitters, and Kyle was in the zone,” Spring Valley coach Michael Laguna said. “When he gets that way ... he’s one of those quiet, confident guys that doesn’t want to say anything, just play.

“And it’s a good time; right now, we need him to get going so he can help our two outsides and our opposite to hit better.”

Bonanza (6-6, 6-3) beat the Grizzlies (9-4, 6-3) at home in the second Southwest League match of the season, but after Laguna came back from injuries sustained in a car accident, it seemed to make all the difference for his team.

“Comng back from those losses in the beginning of the season, this felt good,” Christensen said. “Everything was on tonight. We’re just playing fundamentals and doing well with it.”

Blake Ringer added 10 kills for Spring Valley, including five in the first game. Dallas Teshima distributed 43 assists. The junior setter added two aces, including the first-game winner.

“(Teshima) was setting me up nice,” Christensen said. “I felt like the sets were there, and I just felt like putting them down.”

Bonanza stormed to a second-game win with a 13-4 run, which included three blocks and a kill by Jared Harrington, who finished with 17 kills and four blocks.

Spring Valley rallied from a 23-16 deficit in the third game before falling 25-22 on a spike by Bonanza opposite hitter Cru Leavitt, who had 10 kills and five digs.

“They’ve been kicking our butt all the time,” Laguna said. “I told the guys, 'Hey, it’s our turn.’ We waited too many years to get kicked around, and this was our year to come in and say, 'Hey, we’re tired of it.’”

Khoa Nguyen overcame a slow start to tally 10 kills, seven blocks and three aces for the Grizzlies. Nguyen did most of his damage in the final two games, when he had four kills, two aces and two blocks.

“I always talk to him, let him know he can hit around them,” Laguna said. “(I told him to) take control. He’s a leader; he’s one of our seniors, and he’s always in the huddles telling guys what they need to do.”

The move puts Spring Valley in a four-way tie for second place in the Southwest League with Bonanza, Sierra Vista and Clark.

“I tell the guys that anybody can take first, second or third,” Laguna said. “We cannot let up. And if we want to get a good seed in the playoffs, we had to run the table from the time we lost to Sierra Vista.

“I think we’re clicking right now. It’s kind of nice.”

Bonanza setter Dustin Tippetts dished out 27 assists, and libero Kenny Desoto added 10 digs for the Bengals.