SUNSET REGION: Chun, Gaels oust Centennial in final

Centennial’s girls volleyball team seemed to adjust to each Bishop Gorman hitter in the Sunset Region final.

The Bulldogs couldn’t adjust to Kylee Chun, though.

Chun had 40 assists, five kills and two aces Friday night to help the Gaels claim their third straight region title with a 25-23, 18-25, 25-22, 25-22 victory over Centennial at Legacy.

Gorman advanced to the state tournament, which starts Friday at Chaparral. Centennial will play Las Vegas in a state play-in match Monday at Chaparral.

“It’s a good win for us. When we play Centennial, it’s one of our favorite games of the year,” Chun said. “We always play better than we usually do. But this is a great win for us.”

The senior setter consistently found six hitters as Gorman (28-10) attacked Centennial from multiple positions on the court.

Shelby Devlin had 13 kills and two blocks for the Gaels, and sophomore Emma Kirst added 10 kills.

“With Emma, you’ve got size and a lot of intangibles,” Gorman coach Ed Van Meetren said. “She’s just learning the game, but she’s got such a big upside. She brings such angles to the court that teams really struggle picking it up.”

Centennial (28-6) jumped to a 13-10 lead in the first set before Devlin scored three of seven straight Gorman points as the Gaels took control.

Kassidy Welte answered for the Bulldogs, hitting four kills in the second set as teammate Kaitlin Kelly added three kills and two aces to even the score at 1.

But Chun went to work in the final two sets, keeping Centennial off balance by finding several new targets and adding in occasional setter dumps to prevent the Bulldogs from creeping too far forward.

“If you distribute the ball out, they’re more likely to get a kill,” Chun said. “Sometimes, you just have to keep going back to the same hitter, even if they get blocked, to keep their confidence up. If they get down, they know they’ll be OK.”

Gianna Ruggeroli had nine kills and 12 digs for Gorman, Rachel Wallace contributed six kills and two aces, and Leah Lychock had four kills off the bench in the final set.

Lacy Miyahira had 11 kills, 15 assists and four aces for Centennial, which got 19 assists and two aces from Kristi Farley.

Welte had 10 kills and Kelly eight for the Bulldogs, who got 19 digs from Ashley Hill and four blocks and two kills from Alex Johnson.

“This win is huge for us,” Chun said. “It gives us a lot of momentum to go into state to have our confidence up. We’re just going to hit practice hard next week and go into it hard. We’re all hyped up now.”