State girls volleyball: Coronado rolls to 5A title
Coronado girls volleyball coach Matt Johnson knows he has an experienced team.
He wasn’t afraid to admit that sometimes the best coaching he could do is to get out of the way and let his team figure it out.
That approach paid off.
The Cougars capped off their season by winning the Class 5A state championship with a 25-9, 25-17, 25-19 victory over Reno on Saturday at Hug in Reno.
“It was a great end to a great season and a great couple of years with this group of seniors,” Johnson said. “They were very emotional after the match, and rightfully so because they went through a lot last year as juniors. They put it all together and had a pretty dominant year.”
Abigail Paulson led the Cougars with 16 kills, and Nanea Merryman had 14. Angelina Sayles had seven aces, and Camdyn Carpenter finished with five aces and 32 assists.
Johnson said the way his players handled the road atmosphere gave him confidence that the moment wasn’t too big for them.
“The maturity of this team really showed up,” Johnson said. “They could have easily allowed the outside noise to get to them, but they kept their focus within the lines of the court and not what was happening externally.”
Arbor View 3, Sierra Vista 0 — At Rancho, Willow Watson recorded 10 kills and five aces as the Aggies rolled past the Mountain Lions for a 28-26, 25-21, 25-19 victory to take the 4A state title.
“We came in being a pretty young team, but full with a lot of talent,” Arbor View coach Nicole Adarme said. “We said at the beginning if we worked hard enough, we could be 4A state champions. The girls worked really hard all season and committed to being all-in.”
Madison Garvin finished with eight kills for the Aggies. Sarah Hoofman added 15 assists, and No’elani Melson had 23 digs.
Boulder City 3, Moapa Valley 1 — At Rancho, the Eagles won the 3A state title with a 26-24, 18-25, 25-18, 25-12 win over the Pirates.
Contact Alex Wright at awright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlexWright1028 on Twitter.
