SUNRISE VOLLEYBALL: Falcons respond with convincing win

Foothill girls volleyball coach Krysta Ortiz told her players that a win wouldn’t be good enough on Tuesday. She wanted a big win.

Ortiz’s squad responded convincingly, trouncing Silverado 25-15, 25-19, 25-21 in the first round of the Sunrise Region tournament at Green Valley.

Aside from a brief lapse in the third set, the Falcons dominated throughout.

“We told them that anything less (than a sweep) would be unacceptable,” said Ortiz, whose team will face Green Valley in a 7:15 p.m. semifinal at Legacy on Thursday. “And they did it.”

Senior middle blocker Nicolette White (10 kills) was the offensive leader, but Ortiz also credited Indoneisha Strue (nine kills, three blocks), Cailey Bean (26 assists) and Korina Bush (20 digs).

“We told them they were in the key positions,” Ortiz said. “They’d have to hold (the Skyhawks) down. They were our leaders tonight.”

The Falcons (17-13) established their dominance early, going ahead 20-9 in the first set with the help of a 10-0 scoring run.

The second set remained close until a late 4-0 spurt gave Foothill a 20-15 advantage. Strue ensured her team would carry that momentum into the third set with an emphatic kill into the corner that gave the Falcons a 2-0 lead.

The Skyhawks (11-11) appeared buried when they fell into an 18-12 third-set hole, but Amari Norris capped a rally by tipping the ball over the net and tying the score at 20. But that was all the Skyhawks had, as Foothill claimed five of the set’s final six points.

“We worked as a team tonight, and we’re peaking at the right time,” Ortiz said. “Our only concern is that we don’t beat ourselves. Other teams don’t beat us. We can only beat ourselves.”

Norris led Silverado with six kills and a block, and teammate Melanie Srok added four kills and a block.

Basic 3, Las Vegas 2 — Kali Weires had 14 kills, eight digs and six blocks to help the Wolves hang on for a 26-24, 16-25, 25-22, 13-25, 18-16 win over the Wildcats.

Christina Kelley had 28 assists, 15 digs, five blocks and two kills to help Basic, which built an 8-0 lead in the final set before Las Vegas battled back to tie it at 14. An error by the Wildcats provided the match point.

Lynsie Udall (32 digs) and Kyla Bohannon (27 digs, six kills) also contributed for the Wolves (16-13), who will face Coronado at 3:45 Thursday.

Charlai Francis had 21 kills for Las Vegas (18-14), and teammate Matti Ventling had 20 assists.

Green Valley 3, Liberty 0 — Senior outside hitter Nikki Drost had 13 aces, seven kills and five digs to help the Gators (26-7) roll past the Patriots, 25-12, 25-10, 25-9.

Bridgette Dwyer helped Green Valley with 10 kills and an ace, and teammate Alley Seidler added 24 assists.

Liberty finished 4-13.

Coronado 3, Rancho 0 — The Cougars jumped to a 12-0 lead in the first set and never looked back en route to a 25-10, 25-16, 25-9 win over the Rams.

Nikki Jackson and Taylor Jackson had seven kills apiece to lead Coronado (27-6). Teammates Cali Thompson (six aces, four kills), Brooke Garlick (six kills, one block, one ace) and Berkeley Oblad (six kills, one block, one ace) also contributed.

Kayla Coles led Rancho (15-17) with three kills, and teammate Danielle Corino added two kills and an ace.