DIVISION I-A: Faith Lutheran provides quick exit for Miners

Faith Lutheran girls volleyball coach Amy Fisher put together a tough non-conference schedule this season for her Crusaders, hoping the competitive slate would prepare her team for the postseason.

The Crusaders’ first test came Tuesday night, and Faith Lutheran passed with flying colors.

It took Faith Lutheran only 47 minutes to defeat Sunrise Mountain, 25-5, 25-6, 25-10, in the opening round of the Division I-A Southern Region tournament at Chaparral.

The Crusaders will face Moapa Valley in the semifinals at 7 p.m. Thursday. Chaparral plays Boulder City in the other semifinal at 5:15 p.m.

The Crusaders (28-9) scored 12 of the first 15 points in the first set and never looked back.

“We were really prepared for this match,” Fisher said. “We’ve played in some tough matches recently and I think that helped us get ready for this tournament.”

Faith Lutheran used the serving of Taylor Richards and Sam Leonard to race out to a 10-1 advantage in the second set, and it was all Crusaders in the third set.

“I hope we continue to play with this type of confidence,” Fisher said. “Sunrise Mountain is a solid team, but we were just ready to play tonight.”

Taylor Hammer had 11 kills and three blocks for Faith Lutheran, and Richards added seven kills and four aces. Leonard had six kills, four aces and two blocks, and Gianni Perryman finished with 25 assists for the Crusaders.

Tania Amaya had four kills and a block for the Miners (9-10).

Chaparral 3, Pahurmp Valley 0 — Jaeda Allen had 24 kills and three aces as the host Cowboys (25-12) downed the Trojans, 25-11, 25-22, 25-21.

Katie Oliveira had 37 assists for Chaparral (25-12), and teammate Rita Mesa-Mola had eight kills and two blocks.

Bryanna Soliwoda had seven assists for the Trojans (14-15), and Mikayla Davis added four blocks.

Moapa Valley 3, Clark 1 — In the longest quarterfinal of the day, the Pirates rebounded from a wild third-set loss to finally defeat the Chargers, 25-11, 25-20, 37-39, 25-22.

Clark erased a 9-3 deficit in the third set to make things interesting.

But Moapa Valley (22-9) regained its composure and raced to a 10-5 lead in the decisive set en route to the victory.

Summer Owens and Bailey Owens combined for 19 kills to lead the Pirates, and Tabitha Witsken added 11 digs. Kimberly Lewis turned in 39 assists for Moapa Valley, and Makenzie Bush had nine kills and Shelbie Gray four blocks.

Emi Afanoa led the Chargers (10-12) with nine kills and two blocks, followed by June Roberts with seven kills. Claire Law had 19 assists, and Schae Mores added 16 digs and four kills for Clark.

Boulder City 3, Cheyenne 0 — The Eagles needed just under 50 minutes to down the Desert Shields, 25-7, 25-5, 25-17.

Boulder City (28-7) held Cheyenne to 12 points in winning the first two games, and scored nine of the first 11 points in final game and cruised from there.

Whitney Barlow had 10 kills and Eliza Jeppsen nine kills for the Eagles, and teammate Avalon Frantz had 27 assists and nine aces.

Jasmine Spurlock had a pair of aces for Cheyenne (5-11), and Erin McNally added two kills.