SUNRISE REGION: Silverado weathers storm to sweep Coronado
Silverado volleyball coach Jennifer Boeddeker had reason to celebrate Thursday, but instead left the court with a look of concern.
The Skyhawks had just swept Coronado, 25-21, 25-22, 25-15 in the semifinals of the Sunrise Region tournament at Silverado, but Boeddeker thought her team made things tougher than they needed to be.
“Honestly, I think we struggled,” said Boeddeker, whose team will play Green Valley for the league championship today at 5 p.m. “Coronado brought a great game.”
Of particular concern to Boeddeker was the fact that her squad blew big leads in each of the first two games.
“I think when you have a big lead and you give someone momentum, it just makes the game that much harder,” she said.
The Skyhawks jumped to an 11-2 advantage in the first game before allowing Coronado to tie the score at 16. They hung on to win it, but allowed an 11-4 lead to vanish in the second game when the Cougars rallied to tie it at 13.
Silverado senior Taylor Richard agreed that the Skyhawks, who beat Coronado in both regular-season meetings, were not in top form.
“I think we could have pulled that out a lot quicker,” said Richard, who finished with six kills. “I didn’t feel we worked as a team. There was no communication.”
The Cougars jumped ahead in the third game, taking a 4-2 lead. But Silverado responded by scoring the next six points, and dominated the rest of the way.
Boeddeker said she would keep her mind on the positives heading into the championship match.
“The fact that we kept the lead and were able to side-out at crucial points kept us in the game,” said the coach, whose team has not lost a game in the tournament.
Kayla Agae led the Skyhawks (29-6) with nine kills, and teammate Marilyn Agae had 25 assists.
Kristen Herlosky had 11 digs and nine kills to lead Coronado (21-12). Teammate Kuulei Piena added eight kills and seven digs, and Katie Gamsky dished out 20 assists and eight digs.
Green Valley 3, Las Vegas 0 — In the other semifinal, the Gators (28-6) rolled to a convincing 25-16, 25-13, 25-12 win over the Wildcats (20-13).
Though her team already looked strong in the first game, junior Emma Johnson served for 11 consecutive points to give Green Valley an 11-2 lead and all the momentum in the Game 2.
Another early scoring spurt in the final game secured the win for the Gators, who also have won all six games they have played in the tourney.
Senior Siga Appelgate finished with 17 kills to lead Green Valley. Taylor Seidler helped out with nine digs and two aces, while Johnson added seven kills and Jena Chavez had 19 assists and three digs.
