Silverado rallies to place third in bracket at Durango Fall Classic girls volleyball tournament

Trailing 23-20 in the third-place match of the Contender division, Silverado’s girls volleyball team needed someone to rally the troops.

 

Kayla Agae was that someone.

 

Agae posted a block, had an assist and kept alive a rally that led to a kill to rally the Skyhawks to five straight points to finish off the first game en route to a sweep of Seaquam (Canada), 25-23, 25-20, for a third-place finish in the Contender bracket at the Durango Fall Classic on Saturday.

 

All of the Skyhawks needed to surge in the first game was a timeout and a string of key plays by Agae, who led Silverado with eight kills, two blocks and two aces.

 

“It was all a team effort when we timed out,” Agae said. “Our coach talked to us and told us we had to finish this through. Everyone else was saying pick it up, let’s finish it through.

 

“We wanted to finish it, get over with it, and play hard.”

 

The match was a microcosm of the Skyhawks’ growth since before Friday’s opening day, coach Jennifer Boedekker said.

 

“I think (the match) shows how we’ve emotionally grown over this particular tournament and in general,” Boedekker said. “We’ve spent a lot of time with some leads on other teams that we haven’t been able to capitalize, and I think it says a lot about the maturity that came with this weekend.”

 

Silverado jumped to a 4-1 first-game lead, but the Seahawks rallied on back-to-back blocks by Olivia Redden to take a 13-12 advantage midway through the game.

 

But the Skyhawks weren’t ready to give up.

 

“As a whole team, our whole mentality was to compete as a team, keep it together and finish it through,” Agae said. “It was our last match, so why not?”

 

Natalie Lainhart served up an ace and then used one of her team-high four blocks to help Silverado back into the game, and senior setter Marilyn Agae added 18 assists and five kills for the Skyhawks. Lauren Tegtmeier added seven kills for Silverado.

 

The Agae sisters found each other all over the court, dishing out back passes to one another and facilitating the Skyhawks offense on most plays as if they were reading each other’s minds.

 

“That’d be cool if it was genetics, but it’s really just a setter talking to a hitter as one, and not as sisters,” Kayla Agae said. “Sure, we have that relationship, but it’s all about communication between a setter and a hitter.

 

“(Our relationship) really helps out a lot.”

 

Silverado failed to pull away from Seaquam in the second game, with the Seahawks tying it at 18 before the Skyhawks tallied five straight points, including an ace and kill by Marilyn Agae on consecutive points to ice the match.

 

Agae said the nationally recognized tournament “definitely built up” the defending state champion Skyhawks’ confidence for a key stretch run in the competitive Southeast League, and the team will benefit from the faster pace of playing teams from California to British Columbia.

 

“I think the entire tournament was a great growing experience for the program,” Boedekker added. “We really did come in with the idea to learn a lot from the other teams and to learn from each other, to grow as a team.

 

“This weekend really offered some serious growth, and I’m pleased to say that.”

 

Harvard-Westlake (Calif.) won the tournament’s Champions bracket, upsetting top-seeded Assumption (Ky.) in the first round of bracket play before sweeping La Costa Canyon (Calif.), 25-17, 25-13 in the finals.

 

Bishop Gorman stormed through Saturday’s qualifying rounds into the Bronze bracket at Green Valley but settled for a seventh-place finish in the bracket.

 

Every other Southern Nevada team finished the tourney at Foothill in the Classic or Contender brackets, with Centennial leading the way with a fourth-place Classic finish. Green Valley was fifth in the Classic.

 

Silverado took third in the bottom bracket with Coronado, Shadow Ridge, Foothill and Durango relegated to the last four spots, respectively.

 

 

Bingham (Utah) d. Centennial, 25-14, 25-14
Bishop Gorman d. Green Valley, 25-9, 25-19
Bishop Gorman d. El Dorado (Calif.), 21-25, 26-24, 25-20
Bishop Gorman d. Wilson (Calif.), 26-24, 25-23
Buchanan (Calif.) d. Coronado, 13-25, 25-17, 25-20
Buchanan (Calif.) d. Silverado, 27-25, 25-16
Centennial d. Shadow Ridge, 25-16, 25-17
Centennial d. Newbury Park (Calif.), 25-21, 26-24
Chugiak (Alaska) d. Durango, 25-20, 27-25
Clovis (Calif.) d. Silverado, 25-22, 20-25, 25-17
Clovis (Calif.) d. Green Valley, 25-20, 25-22
Clovis (Calif.) d. Centennial, 25-22, 25-22
Coronado d. Foothill, 25-15, 25-13
Coronado d. Shadow Ridge, 25-17, 25-9
Foothill d. Durango, 25-13, 25-16
Galena d. Coronado, 25-21, 18-25, 25-17
Great Oak (Calif.) d. Coronado, 25-22, 18-25, 25-18
Green Valley d. Foothill, 25-12, 25-13
Green Valley d. Galena, 25-22, 25-13
Green Valley d. Chugiak (Alaska), 25-21, 25-11
Northview (Ga.) d. Bishop Gorman, 25-20, 27-29, 25-14
Rim of the World (Calif.) d. Durango, 25-14, 25-16
Riverside (Canada) d. Centennial, 25-17, 25-21
Saint Mary’s (Calif.) d. Bishop Gorman, 25-11, 25-19
Saint Mary’s (Calif.) d. Silverado, 25-14, 25-16
Seaquam (Canada) d. Shadow Ridge, 26-24, 25-14
Shadow Ridge d. Durango, 25-18, 25-22
Silverado d. Foothill, 25-19, 25-13
Silverado d. Seaquam (Canada), 25-23, 25-21
Championship, Harvard-Westlake (Calif.) d. La Costa Canyon (Calif.), 25-17, 25-13