DIVISION I-A: Faith Lutheran tops Cowboys to take crown

Faith Lutheran senior setter Gianni Perryman made a mental list of goals this season for the Crusaders volleyball team.

Among them were to go undefeated in league play and win a Division I-A Southern Region championship and a state title.

After Friday night, one item remains unchecked.

Perryman, along with an aggressive front row, swept Chaparral 25-17, 25-12, 25-14 in the region final at Green Valley.

“This is one of the best feelings I’ve ever had,” said Perryman, who had 32 assists. “This team has gone above and beyond what our expectations are, and we’re fulfilling all of our goals and more. We’ve done nothing but move up and get better throughout the whole season.”

Both teams will head to Reno next weekend for the state tournament.

The Crusaders (30-9) cruised to a 10-1 lead in the first set behind Perryman (eight assists) and Taylor Richards (four kills).

“Up front our middle attack was on,” Perryman said. “Our coach always tells us that defense wins games, and that really showed today.”

That defensive prowess was evident in the second set. Opening with a 12-3 run, Faith Lutheran increased the margin with runs of four and three points. Chaparral never managed a lead in the first two sets.

“The combination of having a good middle attack helps to open up our outside hitters,” Crusaders coach Amy Fisher said. “It makes it very hard to defend when you have very solid middles and you have a setter who can set well.”

The Cowboys (23-13) grabbed a short-lived advantage early in the third set, but the Crusaders pulled away late. Taylor Hammer finished with a team-high 13 kills for Faith Lutheran, and Richards had 11 kills.

Senior outside hitter Jaeda Allen led the Cowboys with 11 kills, and Katie Oliveira had 14 assists and two blocks.