SUNRISE REGION: Appelgate, Gators climb out of 0-2 hole to upset Silverado
Gathering herself with her team one point away from an improbable comeback, Green Valley’s Siga Appelgate knew the final set of the Sunrise Region tournament would come her way.
With one swing down the line, Appelgate erased a year’s worth of bad memories and sent the Gators into the Class 4A state tournament with a 22-25, 18-25, 25-19, 25-19, 15-11 win over Silverado.
“I went up there, I held my breath, and I was like, 'OK, this is going down,’” Appelgate said.
That final kill completed Green Valley’s resurgent effort, and the Gators (29-6) roared back from a two-game deficit to win Friday’s region championship match on the Skyhawks’ home court. Appelgate finished with 24 kills, five digs and two aces. Emma Johnson contributed 20 kills and three digs for Green Valley.
Not only did Green Valley, the No. 2 seed from the Southeast League, avenge three regular-season losses to undefeated Southeast-champion Silverado, the Gators got the payback they desperately sought for last year’s region title match loss to the Skyhawks (29-7).
“We started thinking about (going to state) 364 days ago in that region championship game,” Gators coach Erin Hill said. “We’ve been in the construction zone.”
Hill threw her arms into the air when Appelgate’s last kill landed and the normally-reserved coach looked ready to scream with excitement when she called this win the greatest in her long tenure at Green Valley.
“This is the best, this is the best,” Hill said. “How hard this team worked, how much they sacrificed, and how much they played together as a team.”
The season is not finished for the Skyhawks, who will square off Monday against Sunset Region runner-up Palo Verde for the final berth from Southern Nevada.
Green Valley must wait to see who advances from that game before its opponent is determined. If Silverado wins, Green Valley will face the Northern champion in the state semifinals; if the Panthers win, the Gators will play them.
Green Valley hung tight with Silverado in the first game before falling behind 8-0 in the second game and never recovering. Faced with the daunting task of winning three straight games against a Silverado team yet to lose even one in the playoffs, Green Valley refused to panic.
“We just thought we’d start over and start pushing right from the beginning,” Appelgate said.
The Gators did just that, surging to a 13-6 lead with greatly improved defense and blocking. The Skyhawks rallied to tie the game at 17 before getting a few good bounces to finish off the third game. Silverado appeared rattled in the fourth game, making more mistakes and allowing the Gators to escape from an 18-point tie to win.
In the deciding game, the Gators nearly gave away a 10-6 lead, but battled back after blocking Silverado’s Taylor Richard to set up Appelgate’s final kill in the last few points.
Jena Chavez tallied 35 assists and three aces for the Gators, and Alexa Drost added 14 digs.
