SUNSET REGION: Smith, Shadow Ridge silence Bengals

Ashley Smith sensed Shadow Ridge’s girls volleyball team building momentum near the end of the regular season.

The sophomore outside hitter made sure the Mustangs brought that momentum with them into the postseason.

Smith had 27 kills and 16 digs to lead Shadow Ridge to a 27-25, 25-27, 25-17, 25-16 victory over Bonanza in the quarterfinals of the Division I Sunset Region tournament Tuesday at Legacy.

“We’ve been working in practice so hard, and we knew that (Bonanza) would come in strong,” said Smith, whose team has won eight of its past nine matches. “We knew that they would bring it, and we brought it to them, too.”

Shadow Ridge (21-13) will meet Bishop Gorman (22-9) in the semifinals at 7 p.m. Thursday at Green Valley.

The Mustangs blew a 17-9 lead in the second set, as Bonanza used a kill from Sam Katschke and an ace by Ellyn Hirabayashi to score the final two points and tie the match 1-1.

But Shadow Ridge was never seriously threatened in the third or fourth sets, and the match fittingly ended on a Smith kill.

“I told my girls, we can prepare all we want for Bonanza, (but) if we’re not taking care of the ball on our side of the court, then we’re not going to be successful,” Mustangs coach Karissa Guthrie said. “We started taking care of the ball on our side of the court and limiting those unforced errors.”

Guthrie said Smith has consistently improved throughout the season.

“Ashley does a really good job when we need her,” Guthrie said. “It definitely helps to have that supporting cast around her help take some of the pressure off.”

That supporting cast came through, as Olivia Denny dished out 40 assists, Jasmine Burton had 22 digs and Caitlin Pascal recorded six kills.

“We played amazing,” Smith said. “I’m really proud of my team. I just love them to pieces.”

Rykki Rudd led Bonanza (16-13) with 13 kills and three blocks. Hayley Huntsman had 12 assists and five aces for the Bengals, who got 10 digs from Hirabayashi.

Centennial 3, Sierra Vista 0 — Kristi Farley had 24 assists and three aces as the Bulldogs (18-14) rolled to a 25-13, 25-18, 25-20 sweep of the Mountain Lions (13-12).

Centennial will meet Palo Verde (22-8) in a region semifinal at 3:40 p.m. Thursday at Green Valley.

"(Farley) is a good leader for us, and we rely on her a lot," Bulldogs coach Scott Nelson said. "She kind of sets the tempo of our team, and she's done a good job for us all year."

Tiana Bonds had 11 kills for Centennial, and Raquari Gilliam and Talia Barnes added six kills each. Nani Padilla had nine digs for the Bulldogs.

Shelby Stiles led Sierra Vista with 13 assists and six digs.

Bridgette Levi had seven kills for the Mountain Lions, and Kiana Taitano had 13 digs.

Bishop Gorman 3, Arbor View 0 — Emma Kirst had nine kills as the Gaels cruised to a 25-16, 25-13, 25-10 sweep of the Aggies (13-19).

Emma Filosi had 23 assists for Gorman, which got five kills from Gianna Ruggeroli and four kills and three blocks from Francesca Manz.

Kayla Papuga led Arbor View with seven kills and two aces, and Tara Wiese had 10 assists for the Aggies.

Palo Verde 3, Desert Oasis 0 — Stephanie Herman racked up 33 assists and five aces to lead the Panthers to a 25-10, 25-10, 25-14 sweep of the Diamondbacks (13-15).

Kendall Cheval had 11 kills, three aces and four digs for the Panthers. McCall Phillips had seven kills and three digs, and Faryn Duncan supplied 13 digs.

Tianna Jefferson paced Desert Oasis with two kills, four digs and five assists. Brooke Mazak had four kills and three digs for the Diamondbacks, and Summer Bobenhausen-Kibler had six digs.