POSTED: Saturday September 26, 2009
A handful of Gators watched at Durango as Archbishop Mitty of San Jose, Calif., the top-ranked team in the country, rallied after losing the first game to Newport Harbor (Calif.) to win the tournament, 16-25, 25-21, 25-20.
Green Valley’s girls swept three matches in pool play Friday and won their Saturday opener before losing to Kamehameha, last year’s Hawaii state champion, in the Bronze Bracket. The Gators found that even the lower levels of the 48-team event featured enormous talent.
“It’s definitely a higher level of competition,” Green Valley sophomore Alexa Drost said. “In Nevada there’s not very much competition. It makes us better.”
In Nevada, the Gators hadn’t witnessed anything like the show put on by the Monarchs and Sailors.
“Their defense was phenomenal,” Drost said. “They are very, very quick. They have really good intuition.”
With nine seniors back from a California state championship team, the Monarchs showed little worry after falling behind and then standing tied at 21 in the second game, rolling off four points without a single traditional kill to regain control.
“(Our players are) so experienced together,” Archbishop Mitty coach Bret Almazan-Cezar said. “They’ve been in these situations, and it’s just, 'Get the next point.’ ”
Monarchs setter Joan Calpiaro kept the offense humming with 33 assists and five kills. Rachel Williams spiked 11 kills, Brittany Bozzini had nine and Kristina Graven seven. As the Gators’ Drost noted, it was Archbishop Mitty’s defense that turned the match, slowing Newport Harbor’s attack after the opening game.
“We were following our reads a little better,” Almazan-Cezar said.
Though Newport Harbor entered with a less lofty No. 87 national ranking, the Sailors feature at least two surefire Division I college prospects in outside hitter Kirby Burnham and middle blocker Katey Thompson. Burnham had 14 kills and Thompson 12.
The Sailors used strong serving and defense to handle Archbishop Mitty easily in the first game and then led 20-19 in the second before the Monarchs used a tip, an ace off the tape, a hammered overpass and a stuff block to complete their comeback. Archbishop Mitty bolted to a 14-8 lead in the third game and never allowed the Sailors back in.
In other tournament matches:
Silverado 2, Newbury Park (Calif.) 1 — At Green Valley, Silverado rallied for a 17-25, 25-18, 25-20 win in a qualifying-round match.
Silverado 2, Clovis West (Calif.) 0 — At Green Valley, Silverado reached the Bronze Bracket with a 25-19, 25-21 win.
Silverado 2, Saint Mary’s (N.M.) 1 — At Green Valley, Silverado advanced to the Bronze semifinals with a 17-25, 25-23, 25-18 victory.
Kamehameha (Hawaii) 2, Silverado 0 — At Green Valley, Kamehameha earned a berth in the Bronze final by beating the Skyhawks, 25-20, 25-21.
Buchanan (Calif.) 2, Silverado 0 — At Green Valley, Buchanan posted a 25-12, 25-21 victory as Silverado finished fourth in the Bronze.
Green Valley 2, Saint Pius X (N.M.) 0 — At Green Valley, the Gators were 25-20, 25-16 winners in a qualifying-round match.
Kamehameha (Hawaii) 2, Green Valley 0 — At Green Valley, Kamehameha won a Bronze berth with a 25-21, 25-20 victory.
Gilbert (Ariz.) 2, Green Valley 0 — At Green Valley, Gilbert breezed into the Competition Bracket semifinals, beating the Gators, 25-13, 25-12.
Chugiak (Alaska) 2, Green Valley 0 — At Green Valley, Chugiak repelled the Gators, 30-28, 25-18 in a Competition match.
Green Valley 2, Tri-City Christian (Calif.) 0 — At Green Valley, the Gators finished seventh in the Competition Bracket with a 25-21, 25-17 win over Tri-City Christian.
Centennial 2, Las Vegas 1 — At Foothill, the Bulldogs rallied for a 15-25, 25-20, 25-17 victory and a spot in the Classic Bracket.
Tri-City Christian (Calif.) 2, Bishop Gorman 0 — At Foothill, Tri-City was a 25-19, 28-26 winner in a qualifying-round match.
Bishop Gorman 2, Durango 0 — At Foothill, Gorman topped the Trailblazers, 25-15, 25-16, and advanced to the Classic Bracket.
Bishop Gorman 2, Centennial 1 — At Foothill, the Gaels held off Centennial, 25-11, 16-25, 25-23, to reach the Classic semifinals.
Brighton (Utah) 2, Bishop Gorman 0 — At Foothill, Brighton earned a spot in the Classic final by beating the Gaels, 25-20, 25-20.
Bishop Gorman 2, Saint Pius X (N.M.) 0 — At Foothill, the Gaels finished third in the Classic with a 25-19, 25-22 victory.
Centennial 2, Galena 1 — At Foothill, Centennial rallied for a 23-25, 25-19, 25-23 victory in a Classic match.
Coronado 2, Cottonwood (Utah) 1 — At Foothill, Coronado outlasted Cottonwood, 12-25, 25-21, 28-26 to clinch a Classic berth.
Newbury Park (Calif.) 2, Coronado 1 — At Foothill, Newbury Park overcame an early deficit to reach the Classic semifinals with a 21-25, 25-16, 25-18 victory.
Ponderosa (Calif.) 2, Coronado 0 — At Foothill, Ponderosa posted a 25-19, 25-21 victory in a Classic match.
Ponderosa (Calif.) 2, Centennial 0 — At Foothill, Ponderosa finished fifth in the Classic by stopping the Bulldogs, 25-21, 25-17.
Coronado 2, Galena 0 — At Foothill, Coronado rebounded from consecutive losses to take seventh place in the Classic with a 25-19, 25-19 victory.
Ponderosa (Calif.) 2, Shadow Ridge 1 — At Foothill, Ponderosa rallied for a 20-25, 25-12, 25-17 win, dropping the Mustangs into the Contender Bracket.
Saint Pius X (N.M.) 2, Foothill 0 — At Foothill, Saint Pius blitzed the Falcons, 25-11, 25-11, to reach the Classic Bracket.
Shadow Ridge 2, Foothill 0 — At Foothill, Shadow Ridge defeated the Falcons, 25-6, 25-8, in a Contender quarterfinal.
Rim of the World (Calif.) 2, Las Vegas 1 — At Foothill, Rim of the World advanced to the Contender final with a 17-25, 25-18, 25-20 victory.
Cottonwood (Utah) 2, Shadow Ridge 1 — At Foothill, Cottonwood outlasted the Mustangs, 25-21, 19-25, 25-22, to advance to the Contender final.
Shadow Ridge 2, Las Vegas 1 — At Foothill, the Mustangs won, 25-21, 14-25, 25-11, to finish third in the Contender Bracket.
Foothill 2, Carson City 0 — At Foothill, the Falcons were 25-19, 25-23 victors in a Contender match.
Seaquam (Canada) 2, Durango 0 — At Foothill, Seaquam earned a 25-21, 25-12 victory in a Contender match.
Seaquam (Canada) 2, Foothill 0 — At Foothill, Seaquam posted a 25-16, 25-15 win in the Contender fifth-place match.
Carson City 2, Durango 0 — At Foothill, Carson City rolled to a 25-9, 25-22 victory and seventh in the Contender Bracket.
i bet you suck VVV
gaurantee? are you on our team? do you know how much we put ourselves mentally and physically for our program? no i dont think so. try reading the contract we signed or spending a day with our coach when she has a bad day. you think t is the only player? someone has to pass the ball so she can hit it, someone has to serve it when shes not and someone has to set the ball to her. hey don't middles block too? this year our team is a whole new unit. mess with one you mess with all, mess with all ooooo boy. just sit and watch and wait...
If your information is GUARANTEED than why don't you post your names? Don't talk the talk if you can't walk the walk!
i can GUARANTEE that silverado wont win state...they have one player and if T gets down...they are NOTHING. at least last year with the other outside...patti i think? they had some positivity. silverado wont go far. i can guarantee that.
On Friday, while Silverado was engaged in a monumental test of their mettle vs. Los Al, Buchanan, & REV, Green Valley was sleepwalking through it's matches against the likes of #40 Galena, #41 Rim of the World, & #43 Shadow Ridge. Silverado got to take their best shot at the future of the Pac-10 while G.V. had to make due with 3 teams that aren't even middle of the pack in their own high school leagues. There's no way to overstate the advantage to Silverado for having the experience.
... make that 19 spots above their seeds.
Silverado began the year as the frontrunner to win State but following this weekend the gap has certainly widened. They were given an opportunity and took advantage of it fully. Green Valley will be playing catch-up for the remainder of the season I'm afraid.
Silverado's top 20 finish is a huge story but unfortunately the local VB community as well as NVPreps are a little starstruck. Silverado, Green Valley, and Gorman finished a combined 17 places above their seeds.
What exactly did Cottonwood, Brighton, Saint Pius X, and Tri-City Christian do to earn their tickets to the dance? It's O.K that they were just handed a golden opportunity to face off against the premier programs in our sport while two or three of our best local programs were given no access to the top tier clubs? Are you not from Nevada or just the typical Vegas self-loather? This is a Tournament conceived and hosted in Nevada by Nevadans, that gave our neighbors in Utah, New Mexico, and California benefits of the doubt that were not extended to our athletes. Having travelled to many States for many Tourneys, I can tell you that those States would not have done the same. I for one, will continue to support Nevada Volleyball and hope that others in our community will join me in this endeavor.
It's amazing to me that nvpreps did not mention in this article anything about how well the Silverado team did by finishing in the top 20. Instead we got to read what Green Valley did in their pool and hear how they are always one of the best teams in NV. BIG DEAL!!! Correct me if I'm wrong but didn't Silverado already beat Green Valley and Bishop Gorman in early tournament play this year?
Awesome job goes out to the directors,you have to earn your spot into the next tier. It's sad to watch a team get destroyed by a higher level team and for a team like that to travel and pay for it is also sad.... great job again Kelly's and staff
Silverado made the most of their opportunity finishing 20/48. Congrats to the players and coaching staff for a very stout effort.
Maybe it would be helpful to go from general to specific to better illustrate my point. Let's consider last year's Durango Day 1 Pool results. Now keep in mind that as a 4 Seed last year, your team was playing at least one and most likely two top 100 Teams. According to the Durango archives these were the scores from Day 1 play for two local schools that were left out of the main draw this year. 33-31, 23-25, 24-26, 25-21, 21-25, 23-25, 18-25, 19-25, 16-25, 18-25, & 19-25. Now you may not consider these scores competitive, but I can guarantee you that those Cali. teams that were pushed to the limit of their tournament lives certainly did. Go ahead and speak for your school and it's program but don't speak for those that ARE competitive and willing to take on the powerhouses of the sport. One never knows what they've got inside until the moment demands that they take a look. Unfortunately some are unwilling while others were denied the chance.
I am one of the better players in town and am going to a Division 1 school. I am the only one from my team going to a good school, so I am not on the level as my team. My team plays at a lower level, and we understand where we are. Seriously, I don't think there is any one in this town, any team, that can compete with good teams and I think you agree, but just want to stir things up. Looking at the other teams in town there are not many athletes who can compete with a team from out of town. They may be ready to do battle, but just can't compete. I play with other good players in the off season and do compete at a very high level, but not here in Las Vegas.
Shelby, some girls in this town are highly committed athletes and are quite prepared to do battle against the best that the sport has to offer. And while I accept your reluctance to do so, it's a shame for the one's denied the chance. Get used to your level, for you'll likely remain there.
Let's face it. I play volleyball in Las Vegas and the "organizers" are right on with the placement of teams. My parents even commented and were happy that some of us were able to play at our own level. That is more fun. I hate playing really good teams and just getting beat up. That is no fun for us and I am sure it is no fun for the good teams. And we aren't even close to the teams from out of town. They are GOOD! They are GREAT! I am thankful that I got to watch some of them when we were finished at our school.
There's no denying that this is THE high school volleyball tournament in the nation and that it does offer our local athletes the opportunity to witness volleyball being played at it's highest level. BUT, for the first time in the tournament's 15 year history, the organizers chose to relegate all but one Nevada team to second tier status. Only Silverado can rightly say that they had an opportunity to play the best, as all others were limited/excluded from doing so. Not exactly a ringing endorsement of Nevada Volleyball from those who are most in the position to provide one.
Hats off to the tournament organizers. it's always gteat to have our athletes exposed to the best talent in the country. Congradulations to the participants , to be the best you have to beat the best...
Congratulations to Bob Kelly and staff for an amazing tournament. Best high school tournament in the country!
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