SUNSET REGION: Bengals gather early lead, hold on for win over Aggies

The match and the season were on the brink of collapse for Bonanza’s boys volleyball team Tuesday.

But after squandering a two-game lead, the Bengals regrouped in the fifth and avoided an upset with a 25-18, 25-21, 16-25, 25-27, 15-11 victory over Arbor View in a Sunset Region quarterfinal at Palo Verde.

“I told the guys, 'How bad do you want it?’” Bonanza coach Joe Cap said of the huddle before the fifth game. “'You want to lay down and die, or do you want to play again on Thursday?’”

Southwest League champion Bonanza (12-6) earned the latter. The Bengals will meet Centennial in a Thursday semifinal at Palo Verde with a trip to the state tournament on the line.

Arbor View (11-8), the No. 4 seed from the Northwest, jumped to a 4-2 to lead in the fifth game, but Bonanza rallied to take a 10-7 edge. The Bengals completed the surge with Jared Hyer’s match-winning kill.

“That was a tough team, and they just brought it to us,” Cap said. “We finally calmed down a little bit at the end.

“We’ve got to stay with the intensity every game and not get into holes where the other team can claw their way back in.”

Jared Harrington had 11 kills and Jason Bedford added 10 kills for Bonanza. Dustin Tippetts dished out 26 assists for the Bengals.

Kirby Mengert led Arbor View with 11 kills, 19 digs and four blocks. Kealyn Butler added 13 kills for the Aggies, and Taylor Jones tallied 43 assists.

Palo Verde 3, Bishop Gorman 0 — Drew Topham had 11 kills, five digs and three blocks to help the Panthers roll to a 25-19, 25-19, 25-16 sweep of the Gaels.

Palo Verde (13-6) will face Shadow Ridge (18-1) in Thursday’s other semifinal.

The Panthers went from the third seed in the Northwest to state champions last season, and it's a path they hope to follow again.

"We've been through it before, so we know that it can be done," Palo Verde coach Phil Clarke said. "It's definitely good to get that first win under your belt."

Nick Hipwell contributed 13 kills and eight digs for the Panthers, and Trent Gneiting added nine kills and 14 digs. Sean Wilson tallied 31 assists, seven digs and four blocks for Palo Verde.

Ryan Parks and Ronnie Stanley had eight kills apiece for Gorman (11-6).

Centennial 3, Spring Valley 0 — Leo Durkin had 37 assists to help the Bulldogs cruise to a 25-16, 25-22, 25-19 sweep of the Grizzlies.

Ryan Ramin had 10 kills and five blocks for Centennial (16-3), which led the entire second game and never trailed by more than a point in the other two.

Dex Tidwell added nine kills for the Bulldogs, and Mike Robinson supplied eight kills and three aces.

Jayvin Garcia had eight kills to lead Spring Valley (13-6). Dallas Teshima had 24 assists for the Grizzlies.

Shadow Ridge 3, Clark 0 — Zach Hafen had 10 kills and nine digs to lift the Mustangs to a 25-14, 25-17, 25-18 win over the Chargers.

Jacob Bingham had 11 digs for Shadow Ridge, and teammate Jeremy Makaiwi dished out 33 assists.

Matthew Ruedas led Clark (12-6) with six kills.