SUNRISE REGION: Las Vegas outlasts Silverado to reach Sunrise final

Thursday was a different story.

Las Vegas won the chance to play at least two more matches, clinching a spot in next week’s state tournament with a 26-24, 25-17, 27-29, 21-25, 24-22 victory over Silverado at Palo Verde.

“We’re all seniors, and we didn’t want our last game to end like that,” said middle hitter Chris Gbelay, who had 10 kills and five blocks. “We worked too hard for our season to be over.”

Las Vegas (18-2) will face Coronado in the Sunrise championship at 5 p.m. today at Palo Verde. For opposite hitter Trevor Hardy and the Wildcats’ eight other seniors, it’s a chance to band together one more time.

“We just worked together as a team. We learned how to do that all season,” Hardy said. “We’ve got lots of heart, and I think we showed that. We can come from any deficit and work hard as a team. We’re a family.”

Braeden Wilson led the Wildcats with 20 kills and 18 digs, but Hardy stole the show. He threw down the 23rd point of the back-and-forth fifth game, and the Wildcats clinched the victory on a service error.

“When Braeden gets going like that, it makes it easier for everyone to get open; he’s such a dominant force on that one side,” said Hardy, who had 15 kills and two blocks. “When they start keying up on that, Luke (Hansen) our setter knows that other hitters will be open.

“We work together as a team all the time, and if Braeden goes up, we work to get his back, and I think we did that well.”

Hansen had 59 assists and 18 digs for the Wildcats, who took a two-game lead, aided by Gbelay’s three kills and four blocks. Middle hitter James Joseph also notched four of his six blocks in the first two games.

But the Skyhawks (16-4) roared back by taking the third and fourth games, clinching Game 3 on back-to-back aces by Brian Theophil, who finished with seven kills and four aces.

Tyree Burton helped his team rebound in the second and third games, finishing with 15 kills and four blocks to help Silverado stay afloat. Senior setter Casey Hadland also had 46 assists, seven kills and three blocks.

Coronado 3, Rancho 0 — At Palo Verde, the Cougars maintained their perfect record (20-0) with a 25-12, 25-16, 25-22 sweep of Rancho to advance to the Sunrise final.

Bryan Arana led Coronado with 12 kills and Hunter Chaney dished out 30 assists. Chris Andrulis had 10 kills and three aces, and Bryan Glenn added seven kills and three blocks.

David Silva supplied nine kills and two blocks for the Rams (15-5). Antonio Boucher added eight kills, Kevin Plascencia contributed seven kills, and Kamran Baig distributed 22 assists.