SUNSET REGION: Mountain Lions keep poise, edge Faith Lutheran in quarterfinal

Sierra Vista’s girls volleyball team could have panicked after dropping the first game of its Class 4A Sunset Region quarterfinal Tuesday. Or when Faith Lutheran forced a decisive fifth game.

Instead, the Mountain Lions kept their poise on the way to a 19-25, 25-23, 25-23, 19-25, 15-12 home win.

“Our mindset is always we’re going to win,” Sierra Vista junior outside hitter Brooke Robinson said. “It’s not if we’re going to win or lose; it’s how we’re going to win.”

Robinson had 19 kills to lead the Mountain Lions (20-5), who will play Palo Verde (30-6) in a semifinal at Durango at 7 p.m. Thursday.

The teams were tied at 11 coming out of a timeout in the fifth game before Sierra Vista scored four of the final five points, including a match-ending kill from Jamie Andersen.

“This is a big hurdle,” Sierra Vista coach Camille McComas said. “It’s been a while since we’ve played a higher-level team, and it was a challenge to see if we were going to be able to sustain.”

Sierra Vista scored the final three points in the second game to avoid falling into a 2-0 hole. The third game was tied three times, but the Mountain Lions never trailed.

But the Crusaders closed the fourth game on a 4-1 run to force a fifth game.

“We have five seniors on the floor, and when you have that many seniors, they’re not going to be done right away,” Faith Lutheran coach Amy Fisher said. “I felt we had an edge going into game five because we’ve had those kinds of matches all year.”

Morgan Malone had 44 assists for Sierra Vista. Kayla Forte had 27 digs, and Johnie Pride added nine kills.

Meagan Hauser led Faith Lutheran (22-10) with 18 digs, 14 kills and four aces. Hayley Washinsky had 15 kills and 11 digs, Kelsey McCourt supplied 42 assists and 12 digs, and Alex Treadwell added 10 kills and four blocks.

McComas said knocking out the No. 3 team from the Northwest League could be a “confidence booster” for the Mountain Lions, who are seeded second from the Southwest.

“The Northwest is very strong, and typically the Southwest has struggled,” she said. “Every game will be a challenge for us. I think we’re the underdogs from here on out.”

Bishop Gorman 3, Shadow Ridge 1 — At Bishop Gorman, Kylee Chun had 40 assists, and Liz Manthei had 16 kills to lead the Gaels to a 25-16, 22-25, 25-14, 25-20 win over the Mustangs.

Kylie Shaw added 11 kills and 15 digs, and Brooke McKenna had 13 digs for Gorman (25-3), which plays Centennial in the semifinals at Durango at 5 p.m. Thursday.

Shadow Ridge’s Kylee Schraft had 17 kills and 10 digs, and Rachel Childers added 26 assists for the Mustangs (16-16).

Palo Verde 3, Bonanza 0 — At Palo Verde, Tori Lounsbery had 23 assists to lead the Panthers to a 25-15, 25-12, 25-13 victory over the Bengals.

Jovana Sisovic had 11 kills and Ainsley Lovejoy added eight kills for Palo Verde (30-6).

Chloe Taylor led Bonanza (14-12) with 11 digs.

Centennial 3, Pahrump Valley 0 — At Centennial, Morgan Vieira had 16 assists and 12 digs to lead the Bulldogs to a 25-13, 25-15, 25-20 victory over the Trojans.

Lacy Miyahira added 11 assists and nine digs, and teammate Alli Tatom had six kills and 13 blocks for Centennial (24-9).

Alyson Kunzi had eight kills and Taylor Ball six kills to lead Pahrump (19-13).