SUNRISE REGION: Green Valley wins another title
Erin Hill has watched Green Valley’s volleyball team accomplish plenty in her 22 years as coach.
The Gators entered the season with seven region championships and five state titles under Hill.
So when the host Gators outlasted Coronado 26-24, 25-16, 25-23 to win the Sunrise Region title Friday, Hill wasn’t hard-pressed to find a message behind the latest piece of hardware.
“I’ll be real honest with you,” Hill said. “We have four seniors on our team, and two of them (Jenna Swaffer and Carly Schiess) have been on the team since they were freshmen. They have been a part of four straight region championships. I don’t know if that’s ever happened here.”
Green Valley (32-4) advances to the state tournament in Reno next weekend.
“Each win feels different,” said Swaffer, who had 28 assists and four aces. “It feels really good to know that all the hard work you put in during the season pays off in the end.”
That hard work proved critical. Coronado (24-9) overcame a 19-7 deficit in the first set to pull into a 24-24 tie with the help of Lia Herlosky’s three kills during a six-point run.
But the Gators used a potent offensive attack to rally for two points, as junior outside hitter Nikki Drost slammed home a perfectly placed set by Swaffer to give Green Valley the set. Drost finished with 13 kills, 14 digs and two blocks.
“Swaffer communicates very well,” said Hill, whose Gators extended their winning steak to 16 matches. “She has very good peripheral vision.”
The Gators took advantage of two Swaffer aces to start the second set, and three timely kills from Drost helped clinch it.
The Cougars led 9-6 in the third set, paced by a three-point swing in which junior Brooke Garlick notched two kills. And just as Green Valley made a move, Coronado had one final push, snatching a 20-19 lead.
But the Gators used junior Shanna Olsen’s three blocks to put the set out of reach.
“Hats off to Coronado,” Hill said. “They come out to play, and they just never seemed to get rattled.
With our attack, they dug us well, they played good defense. But our kids just came back. Every time they brought it, our kids brought more.”
Freshman Cali Thompson had 24 assists for the Cougars, Berkeley Oblad had nine kills and four blocks, and Herlosky added eight kills.
