SUNSET VOLLEYBALL: Trailblazers dig in, win marathon

Durango’s Michael Diggins has had one too many postseason disappointments over the past year, and wasn’t about to let it happen again.

Tuesday night in the quarterfinals of the Sunset Region tournament at Bonanza, the 6-foot-8-inch senior had 26 kills, 13 digs and two service aces to lead the Trailblazers to a 24-26, 25-19, 25-21, 20-25, 15-11 victory over the Bengals.

“We worked so hard to get to this point, so I just went all out and we knew we had to get this win,” said Diggins, who was part of last year’s team that was ousted in the first round. “Hopefully this (momentum) will take us to state. That’s our goal right now, it’s what’s driving us.”

Diggins, who was also part of the boys’ basketball team that lost to Centennial in the regional semifinals in February, dominated the fifth and decisive set. He scored five of the team’s 15 points, including the final kill that advanced the Trailblazers (25-15) to Thursday’s 5 p.m. semifinal at Legacy, where they will face Palo Verde.

“Michael is definitely our leader,” Durango coach Nicole Adarme said. “Michael is really good about owning it. He refused to regret this season. I know basketball came up short for him, and he said, ‘I’m not going to do it with volleyball.’ And that’s what he does for us. He picks up on the court, off the court, he’s one of our captains. He’s a humble and compassionate man.”

Durango — which returned seven lettermen, including six starters from a team that reached the postseason last year — also was sparked by Andre Shabazz (57 assists, 11 digs) and Jaylen Clark (17 kills, 13 digs).

After squandering a 24-21 lead in the first set, the Trailblazers responded by winning the next two sets by controlling the tempo and keeping Bonanza at arm’s length midway through each set. The Bengals, who had a 10-2 home record and won 14 of their final 15 regular-season matches, refused to go quietly. Behind an 11-1 run early in the fourth set, Bonanza held on to force the fifth game.

Robby Adair had 23 kills and 11 digs to lead the Bengals (19-7). Luis Raygoza (38 assists), Tyler Simmons (17 digs) and Dylan Hafen (five kills, three blocks) also contributed.

Centennial 3, Bishop Gorman 2 — At Gorman, Justin Dietrich and Kevin Henriksen each had 11 kills as the Bulldogs rallied for a 16-25, 17-25, 25-21, 25-18, 15-10 victory over the Gaels in a region quarterfinal.

Kade Frischknecth added seven kills, three aces and six digs, and Grant Nelson had 30 assists, eight digs and two kills for Centennial (12-11), which will meet Arbor View (34-3) in a region semifinal at 7 p.m. Thursday at Legacy.

Farries Gardner added four kills and five blocks for the Bulldogs.

Gorman ended its season at 18-12.

Palo Verde 3, Desert Oasis 0 — At Palo Verde, Haden Van Orden had 24 assists to lead the Panthers to a 25-17, 25-16, 25-18 sweep of the Diamondbacks in a region quarterfinal.

Jacob Scheer had eight digs and six aces for Palo Verde, which got seven kills apiece from Chandler Juilfs and Grant Tingey.

Billy Cameron had 12 kills, Tyler Sadama had 10 assists and five digs, and Joshua Sadama added seven assists to lead Desert Oasis (11-16).

Arbor View 3, Shadow Ridge 0 — At Arbor View, Brenden Gougeon had 36 assists, and Treven Clizbe notched 22 kills and eight digs as the Aggies swept the Mustangs, 25-23, 25-13, 25-21 in a region quarterfinal.

Michael Prescia added 16 digs, and Brenden Wagner had 13 kills for Arbor View.

Cameron Renner had 18 digs and three aces, and Cody Heathcock had six kills and two blocks for Shadow Ridge (12-16).