Volleyball: Corona sweeps Mtn. Pointe to win 6A Central
October 25, 2016 by Les Willsey, AZPreps365
A championship was on the line Tuesday afternoon with Mountain Pointe visiting Corona del Sol in the final 6A Central Region match of the season.
Corona prevailed to win the region, playing at a level that could win it the championship in two weeks.
Corona controlled every set and was solid to great in every phase in sweeping Mountain Pointe, 25-18, 25-17, 25-17 in the regular-season final for the teams. Both will begin 6A state tournament play Nov. 2 against yet-to-be-determined opponents.
"We had a game plan and executed it," Corona del Sol coach Ben Maxfield said. "We served well, passed good enough and hit really well. Everyone played well."
Corona, No. 2 in the current power rankings, improved to 35-5 overal and finished a perfect 10-0 in its region. Corona lost just two sets in its 10 region matches. Mountain Pointe (32-8, 8-2) saw its 11-match winning streak come to an end. The Pride , No. 5 in the power rankings, had a chance to share the region title if they won, but Corona was having none of that in the fifth meeting between the schools this season. Corona won four of the five.
Corona amassed 43 kills with Erica Ronda leading with 12 kills, followed by Brooke Nuneviller (10), Emma West (8), Lauren Forte (5) and Madelyn Noble (4). Corona's hitting percentage for the match was .309.
The Aztecs attack was varied in the first set with Ronda, West, Nuneviller and Forte doing the damage with 10 kills among them.
Ronda and West had 9 of the team's 15 kills in the second set and Noble helped finish the set with three kills among the final four points after Mountain Pointe closed with 19-17 late.
Nuneviller, who highlighted pregame singing the national anthem, went off in the third set with seven kills, including match poiint. Libero Camryn Tucker anchored the defense with 15 digs. Setters Madi Reum and Abby Meyer fed the attackers with 16 and 14 assists, respectively.
Mountain Poiinte was out of synch most of the match and never found a groove. Piper Manross led the Pride was six kills and Chapin Gray and Nura Muhammad had four apiece, unofficially. Mountain Pointe won a five-set match Monday night against top rival Desert Vista that kept them in the chase for the region title.