Bishop Gorman looks to stay on top in 5A girls volleyball

Like most girls volleyball teams in the valley, Bishop Gorman coach Gregg Nunley has had to rebuild his team from the last full season in 2019.

Those Gaels won their second straight state championship and third in four years and were replaced by a core consisting mostly of freshmen for the shortened spring season.

But Gorman hasn’t had to replace its setter, the most important position on the floor. It returns Caroline Edgeworth, who set an NIAA all-class record for assists in a season in 2019 with 1,474, and her 122 aces were third all time in a Class 4A season.

“She would make all the coaches in the state feel a little more comfortable,” Nunley said. “She has all the experience of being in the state final, winning championships and playing the high-level volleyball she does all year. It makes it easier to work with some of our younger players because I don’t have to worry about her.”

The Gaels lost two-time Nevada Gatorade Player of the Year Tommi Stockham off the 2019 team and two more standouts in middle blocker Julianne Carlat and outside hitter Taylor Jefferson after the spring season in which they finished 7-0.

Nunley expects two sophomores to fill those roles in 6-foot-3-inch Ashley Duckworth in the middle and outside hitter Leilia Toailoa. He said Duckworth is “young but so high up there and has a strong arm,” and Toailoa “is super fun to coach and very athletic.”

The Gaels probably will be the favorite in the new 5A until somebody knocks them off their perch, but the other nine teams in the Southern Region hope to do just that.

Shadow Ridge was the last team other than Gorman to win a state crown, when it knocked off the Gaels in five sets in the 2017 title match.

Coach Jo Makaiwi said her team is full of players who are aware of the program’s history and are ready to put their stamp on it.

“The girls have been ready. We had a little spring intramural time in May, and we had all of them out there to play,” Makaiwi said. “They have been playing nonstop since June of last year, and they’ve been committed all summer.”

Durango reached the 2019 state title match and has a new coach. Palo Verde reached the state semifinals and is always tough because of its scrappy style of play, and Foothill will be bolstered by adding middle blocker Kate Prior, who helped Boulder City to a third straight 3A state crown in 2019. Faith Lutheran faced Gorman twice during the summer and took a set both times.

“It’s new and exciting and another challenge to try to overcome,” Nunley said of the new 5A. “Hopefully we can get some pieces together and do some things in 5A we did in 4A. But we don’t know what’s going to happen.”

Rancho, led by left-handed senior Leah Miller, was the only team that reached the 4A state tournament in 2019 to stay in 4A and should be one of the favorites. Boulder City will go for a fourth straight 3A crown.

Contact Jason Orts at jorts@reviewjournal.com. Follow @SportsWithOrts on Twitter.