Seton Catholic nearly got blown out of its gym in the first set Wednesday night by visitiing Coconino in the opening round of the 4A state volleyball tournament. In fact, the Sentinels lost the first set with a pair of service errors late being the difference in a 1-0 deficit.

That, however, was the last time serving was a negattive to the host Sentinels. Aggressive serving and solid play the final three sets allowed No. 7 Seton to eliminate No. 10 Coconino, 23-25, 25-15, 25-16, 25-21.

Seton (22-10) moves on to Saturday's quarterfinals where it will visit No. 3 Prescott at 6 p.m. Prescott advanced by sweeping Pueblo. Coconino finished up its season 23-12-1.

"We concentrate on serving," Seton coach Patti Schoenhardt said. "Serving tough wins matches. I think we started out with a few nerves. We knew some things about how to attack them. It was a matter of time for the girls to see it."

Coconino pulled away midway through the first set seemingly to a comfortable win. The Panthers were up 22-15 before their service error put Seton at the service line. A 7-0 run, fueled by three aces tied the set at 22. Seton committed two service errors in the final three points and Coconino used an ace to close out a 25-23 triumph.

Those two late errors didn't bother Schoenhardt. Seton had gained  focus and was able to control the next three sets.

Seton, unlike most teams, did not have a match for nearly two weeks with its regular-season finale taking place on Oct. 20.  Most everyone else played one match last week. It wasn't much of a concern, especially the way Seton played after the opening set.

"We have three legitimate outside hitters," Schoenhardt said. "I think it gives opponents something to think about. Our setter got more aggressive with dumps as it went on. It kept them off balance."

Seton finished with 20 aces -- six in each of the first two sets and four each in the final two. Mary Grace Blaser and Nikki Fulmer contributed five aces each and setter Delaney Shearon had four. On the attack Emily Mangone led with 10 kills, followed by Blaser (8), and Leighton Gagnon (7). Shearon was everywhere, tacking on six kills and 28 assists.  Libero Grace Milhone chipped in with 14 digs. 

Coconino was led on the attack by middle hitter Jalisa Ingram (10 kills), outside hitter Lauren Touchstone (10 kills) and Dana Parker (8 kills).