Nation’s best prep volleyball team puts on display at Durango tourney
Green Valley’s girls volleyball program annually ranks among Nevada’s elite, yet many of its players sat in awe of the talent in Saturday night’s championship game of the Durango Fall Classic tournament.
A handful of Gators watched at Durango as Archbishop Mitty of San Jose, Calif., the top-ranked team in the country, rallied after losing the first game to Newport Harbor (Calif.) to win the tournament, 16-25, 25-21, 25-20.
Green Valley’s girls swept three matches in pool play Friday and won their Saturday opener before losing to Kamehameha, last year’s Hawaii state champion, in the Bronze Bracket. The Gators found that even the lower levels of the 48-team event featured enormous talent.
“It’s definitely a higher level of competition,” Green Valley sophomore Alexa Drost said. “In Nevada there’s not very much competition. It makes us better.”
In Nevada, the Gators hadn’t witnessed anything like the show put on by the Monarchs and Sailors.
“Their defense was phenomenal,” Drost said. “They are very, very quick. They have really good intuition.”
With nine seniors back from a California state championship team, the Monarchs showed little worry after falling behind and then standing tied at 21 in the second game, rolling off four points without a single traditional kill to regain control.
“(Our players are) so experienced together,” Archbishop Mitty coach Bret Almazan-Cezar said. “They’ve been in these situations, and it’s just, 'Get the next point.’ ”
Monarchs setter Joan Calpiaro kept the offense humming with 33 assists and five kills. Rachel Williams spiked 11 kills, Brittany Bozzini had nine and Kristina Graven seven. As the Gators’ Drost noted, it was Archbishop Mitty’s defense that turned the match, slowing Newport Harbor’s attack after the opening game.
“We were following our reads a little better,” Almazan-Cezar said.
Though Newport Harbor entered with a less lofty No. 87 national ranking, the Sailors feature at least two surefire Division I college prospects in outside hitter Kirby Burnham and middle blocker Katey Thompson. Burnham had 14 kills and Thompson 12.
The Sailors used strong serving and defense to handle Archbishop Mitty easily in the first game and then led 20-19 in the second before the Monarchs used a tip, an ace off the tape, a hammered overpass and a stuff block to complete their comeback. Archbishop Mitty bolted to a 14-8 lead in the third game and never allowed the Sailors back in.
In other tournament matches:
Silverado 2, Newbury Park (Calif.) 1 — At Green Valley, Silverado rallied for a 17-25, 25-18, 25-20 win in a qualifying-round match.
Silverado 2, Clovis West (Calif.) 0 — At Green Valley, Silverado reached the Bronze Bracket with a 25-19, 25-21 win.
Silverado 2, Saint Mary’s (N.M.) 1 — At Green Valley, Silverado advanced to the Bronze semifinals with a 17-25, 25-23, 25-18 victory.
Kamehameha (Hawaii) 2, Silverado 0 — At Green Valley, Kamehameha earned a berth in the Bronze final by beating the Skyhawks, 25-20, 25-21.
Buchanan (Calif.) 2, Silverado 0 — At Green Valley, Buchanan posted a 25-12, 25-21 victory as Silverado finished fourth in the Bronze.
Green Valley 2, Saint Pius X (N.M.) 0 — At Green Valley, the Gators were 25-20, 25-16 winners in a qualifying-round match.
Kamehameha (Hawaii) 2, Green Valley 0 — At Green Valley, Kamehameha won a Bronze berth with a 25-21, 25-20 victory.
Gilbert (Ariz.) 2, Green Valley 0 — At Green Valley, Gilbert breezed into the Competition Bracket semifinals, beating the Gators, 25-13, 25-12.
Chugiak (Alaska) 2, Green Valley 0 — At Green Valley, Chugiak repelled the Gators, 30-28, 25-18 in a Competition match.
Chugiak (Alaska) 2, Green Valley 0 — At Green Valley, Chugiak repelled the Gators, 30-28, 25-18 in a Competition match.
Green Valley 2, Tri-City Christian (Calif.) 0 — At Green Valley, the Gators finished seventh in the Competition Bracket with a 25-21, 25-17 win over Tri-City Christian.
Bingham (Utah) 2, Centennial 0 — At Foothill, Bingham defeated the Bulldogs, 25-22, 25-23 in a qualifying-round match.
Centennial 2, Las Vegas 1 — At Foothill, the Bulldogs rallied for a 15-25, 25-20, 25-17 victory and a spot in the Classic Bracket.
Tri-City Christian (Calif.) 2, Bishop Gorman 0 — At Foothill, Tri-City was a 25-19, 28-26 winner in a qualifying-round match.
Bishop Gorman 2, Durango 0 — At Foothill, Gorman topped the Trailblazers, 25-15, 25-16, and advanced to the Classic Bracket.
Bishop Gorman 2, Centennial 1 — At Foothill, the Gaels held off Centennial, 25-11, 16-25, 25-23, to reach the Classic semifinals.
Brighton (Utah) 2, Bishop Gorman 0 — At Foothill, Brighton earned a spot in the Classic final by beating the Gaels, 25-20, 25-20.
Bishop Gorman 2, Saint Pius X (N.M.) 0 — At Foothill, the Gaels finished third in the Classic with a 25-19, 25-22 victory.
Centennial 2, Galena 1 — At Foothill, Centennial rallied for a 23-25, 25-19, 25-23 victory in a Classic match.
Coronado 2, Cottonwood (Utah) 1 — At Foothill, Coronado outlasted Cottonwood, 12-25, 25-21, 28-26 to clinch a Classic berth.
Newbury Park (Calif.) 2, Coronado 1 — At Foothill, Newbury Park overcame an early deficit to reach the Classic semifinals with a 21-25, 25-16, 25-18 victory.
Ponderosa (Calif.) 2, Coronado 0 — At Foothill, Ponderosa posted a 25-19, 25-21 victory in a Classic match.
Ponderosa (Calif.) 2, Centennial 0 — At Foothill, Ponderosa finished fifth in the Classic by stopping the Bulldogs, 25-21, 25-17.
Coronado 2, Galena 0 — At Foothill, Coronado rebounded from consecutive losses to take seventh place in the Classic with a 25-19, 25-19 victory.
Las Vegas 2, Durango 0 — At Foothill, the Wildcats cruised to a 25-9, 25-16 victory and advanced to the Contender Bracket semifinals.
Ponderosa (Calif.) 2, Shadow Ridge 1 — At Foothill, Ponderosa rallied for a 20-25, 25-12, 25-17 win, dropping the Mustangs into the Contender Bracket.
Saint Pius X (N.M.) 2, Foothill 0 — At Foothill, Saint Pius blitzed the Falcons, 25-11, 25-11, to reach the Classic Bracket.
Shadow Ridge 2, Foothill 0 — At Foothill, Shadow Ridge defeated the Falcons, 25-6, 25-8, in a Contender quarterfinal.
Rim of the World (Calif.) 2, Las Vegas 1 — At Foothill, Rim of the World advanced to the Contender final with a 17-25, 25-18, 25-20 victory.
Cottonwood (Utah) 2, Shadow Ridge 1 — At Foothill, Cottonwood outlasted the Mustangs, 25-21, 19-25, 25-22, to advance to the Contender final.
Shadow Ridge 2, Las Vegas 1 — At Foothill, the Mustangs won, 25-21, 14-25, 25-11, to finish third in the Contender Bracket.
Foothill 2, Carson City 0 — At Foothill, the Falcons were 25-19, 25-23 victors in a Contender match.
Seaquam (Canada) 2, Durango 0 — At Foothill, Seaquam earned a 25-21, 25-12 victory in a Contender match.
Seaquam (Canada) 2, Foothill 0 — At Foothill, Seaquam posted a 25-16, 25-15 win in the Contender fifth-place match.
Carson City 2, Durango 0 — At Foothill, Carson City rolled to a 25-9, 25-22 victory and seventh in the Contender Bracket.
