Preps

Confident Lancers defeat CDO to earn No. 1 seed

Salpointe Catholic earned a top seed to the 4A/5A state tournament by downing Canyon del Oro 25-21, 25-21, 25-23 in Thursday's 5A Southern Region championship match. "We have a lot of confidence right now," said Salpointe senior Will Russell. "We beat a really good team tonight." Russell paced the Lancers with five digs. He added eight kills and one ace. "All of my guys played tremendous," said Salpointe coach Amy Johnson. "I'm really proud of them." In game one at Sahuaro High School, Salpointe fell behind 9-3. But the Lancers went on a run to take the lead and held on to win the opener. Game two went the same way with Salpointe falling behind and coming back to take the lead at the midway point. A total of eight ties throughout the game showed the intense rivalry between the two teams. Salpointe and CDO were co-region champs in the regular season at 11-1. The Lancers defeated CDO 3-1 in a tie-breaker to get the top seed for regionals. "It's always been there," said Johnson. "It's a great rivalry and we like to play them." CDO coach Patrick McDonald agreed saying it's intense. "Off the court and on the court there's a lot of respect going back and forth," he said. In game three, a four-point lead was not enough for the Dorados, as Salpointe scored five in a row, including the game-winner. Salpointe (39-4-1) receives a first-round bye for the state tournament. CDO (29-14) is the Southern's No. 2 seed and will open Monday with a home match against Kino No. 3 Palo Verde. 4A Sonoran

° Ironwood Ridge 3, Catalina 1: At Palo Verde, Ironwood Ridge won the first two games and stifled a Trojan comeback in the fourth to grab the second seed to the state tournament. Game scores were 25-15, 26-24, 21-25, 25-22. Following a four-game win over Santa Rita on Wednesday, third-seeded IR came up with the program's first victory against Catalina, the top seed. "This was a match the guys really wanted," said Ironwood Ridge coach Bill Lang. "We lost close matches to them last year, and each of this year's matches went the distance." Catalina controlled most of the second and fourth games, but failed to close out either set. With leads of 16-12 and 21-19 in game two, it looked as though the Trojans (29-5) would even the match. However, the Nighthawks (20-8) used a 7-3 run to take a 2-0 lead. After losing game three, Ironwood Ridge rallied once again, this time taking the match. "This was something that has been on the agenda since last year," Lang said. Catalina earned the Sonoran's No. 3 seed to the 4A/5A state tournament and will open Monday against the 5A Northwest Region No. 3 squad. As the No. 2 seed, Ironwood Ridge will host the Northwest's No. 4 squad Monday. - Chris Davis

4A Kino

Catalina Foothills 3, Palo Verde 0: At Palo Verde, the top-seeded Falcons bounced back from Wednesday's loss to Pueblo, dominating the Titans. Game scores were 25-13, 25-18, 25-17. "I wanted our guys to come out from the first moment and compete," said Foothills coach Stephen Carlat. "We didn't do that last night and dug ourselves a big hole." The third-seeded Titans started slow, trailing 16-4 in the first set. True to form though, Palo Verde (13-16) fought back, maintaining a 5-1 lead in game two and a 2-0 advantage in the third. However, Foothills (23-9) was entirely too dominant.. Marc Mutnansky tallied 13 kills, while Gray Vanderlinde added 2 aces and 13 digs. Foothills earned the No. 2 seed to state and will host the Central Region No. 3 on Monday. Palo Verde is the third seed and will open Monday at 5A Southern Region No. 2 CDO. - Chris Davis