SUNSET REGION: Spartans’ knock-out punch ousts defending champs

Cimarron-Memorial’s boys volleyball team looked eager to throw the first punch against Bonanza on Tuesday.

The Spartans ended up with a knock-out blow on the defending state champion Bengals.

Braydon Egbert had 13 kills, Taylor Larsen supplied 20 assists and 16 digs, and Cimarron opened its first postseason campaign since 2009 with a stunning 25-14, 25-23, 30-28 sweep of Southwest League champion Bonanza in the Sunset Region quarterfinals at Legacy.

“We came out swinging, we came out fighting, with good passes and we just did really good,” said Egbert, a senior outside hitter. “We just came out with fire and kept it burning the whole time.”

Cimarron (13-6), the No. 4 seed from the Northwest League, advanced to meet Palo Verde (14-3) in the semifinals at 2 p.m. Thursday at Legacy. The Spartans claimed the Northwest’s final spot in the playoffs, but now they stand one win away from clinching a spot in the state tournament.

“This is a blessing for our team. This is first time for me as a coach at Cimarron to come this far, to regionals,” Spartans coach Jamie Charles said. “The boys work hard and work together. They dig deep and have heart, and they want to go for it.”

A kill by Brycen Duckworth pulled Bonanza (15-4) within 24-23 in the second set, but a kill by Kyle Henriksen clinched a 25-23 win for the Spartans.

A Bonanza service error gave Cimarron a 29-28 lead in the marathon third set, and N.J. Makaiwi fed Hayden Newton with the match-ending kill.

“It was a wonderful scene. Just to see that ending of the third set, it was overwhelming and a relief of pressure,” Charles said. “They did it, and I’m so proud of them.”

Henriksen had 11 kills and Salvador Garcia added eight kills for Cimarron, which got 14 assists from Makaiwi.

Duckworth had eight kills and Alex Cuellar and Kavanaugh Buck each added five kills for Bonanza, which went 13-1 in the Southwest. Kenny DeSoto had 13 digs and Brian Clow supplied 11 digs for the Bengals.

Palo Verde 3, Bishop Gorman 1 — Trent Gneiting had 25 kills and 11 digs to lead the Panthers to a 25-15, 22-25, 25-15, 25-16 win over the Gaels (11-4).

“It’s always a good feeling to beat Gorman. There’s that Palo-Gorman rivalry, and to get this one, it felt pretty good,” Gneiting said.

Gorman seized a 6-1 lead in the third set, but a kill by Gneiting ignited a 24-9 run to close the set for the Panthers.

“Gorman, they’re all pretty big and they have that block there, so we tried to hit spots that were open where the block wasn’t,” Gneiting said.

Jordyn Martin added 13 kills for Palo Verde, which got 40 assists from Andrew Weston.

“It’s real nice,” Panthers coach Phil Clarke said of the duo of Gneiting and Martin. “Usually you focus on that one guy and then he goes back row, but when Trent goes back, all of a sudden there’s Jordyn, and they’re both weapons out of the back row, too.”

Matt Lychock had 12 kills and Stephen Zimmerman added eight kills for Gorman, which got eight digs from Jason Han and 30 assists from Chris Shea.

Centennial 3, Sierra Vista 0 — Dane Hunsicker had 19 kills and five aces to help the Bulldogs (11-7) eliminate the Mountain Lions (12-7), 25-21, 25-12, 32-30.

Centennial will face Shadow Ridge (19-0) in the semifinals at 5:20 p.m. Thursday at Legacy.

Cameron Hanselman had six kills and Dustin Buell had five kills and three aces for Centennial, which got 37 assists from Chet Durkin and nine digs from Connor Morris.

Paolo Lee had 19 assists for Sierra Vista. Josh Sison had 12 digs, and Garrett Clifton added five kills for the Mountain Lions.

Shadow Ridge 3, Desert Oasis 0 — Brandon Fisher had 11 kills and Tanner Maxwell supplied nine kills and eight digs to help the Mustangs roll to a 25-12, 25-21, 25-12 sweep of the Diamondbacks (8-11).

Quinn Skouson tallied five kills for Shadow Ridge, which got 19 digs from Cody Tesoro, 14 assists from Braden Taylor and 13 assists from Jalen Makaiwi.

Tailer Bowen led Desert Oasis with nine kills. Alex Trillo had 17 assists and nine digs, and Daniel Eslinger had 18 digs.