By Rebecca Daly
Staff Writer
The playoffs have begun for girls high school volleyball this week, and the No. 4 seed Sunnyslope Vikings defeated the No. 13 seed Pinnacle Pioneers in round one of the 6A State Championship Tournament on Thursday night.
Pinnacle competed in the conference play-in on Tuesday and defeated No. 20 Tucson, which landed the Pioneers a spot in the tournament.
Sunnyslope had the home court advantage, and started dominating the game in the first set. About half of the kills were by sisters Zoe and Hayes Haan. Both are powerful outside hitters with chemistry that is unmatched. The Vikings won the first set 25-16.
Pinnacle picked up the pace in the second set, keeping the score closer. Sunnyslope was up 22-16, and then Pinnacle turned on the jets, scoring five straight points. With the score at 22-21, Sunnyslope ultimately finished off the set 25-21, leading the match 2-0.
The third set was intense with Pinnacle doing anything to stay in the game, and Sunnyslope doing anything to finish it. The score was tied at six, and nearly every point after that matched.
Pinnacle sophomore outside hitter Addison Nicks and senior middle hitter Blayne Seligmiller dominated the set. With the score at 20-20, the two pushed a lead with their blocking and kills, winning the set 25-22 and staying in the game.
“Pinnacle started playing lights out. Great defense. We had a hard time stopping their outside hitter, and we kinda lost our energy. So going into the fourth, I think we just had a little bit of freshness and drive,” Sunnyslope Head Coach Amber Geer said.
Pinnacle kept its momentum going into the fourth set, but not for long. Down 7-2, Sunnyslope called a timeout to regroup and adjust.
Geer told her team, “Let’s stay solid. Let’s stay consistent. Let’s play with pride and finish it, and have some feel-good play, which is playing confident and with 100% effort.”
Sunnyslope gained back the energy and momentum that was lost in the third set, catching up to Pinnacle and eventually passing them up in scoring. Sunnyslope finished the set 25-18, and ended the game.
“We really had to focus on our side instead of dwelling on what they were doing because they were getting good hits, but we just had to focus on our defense. Once we figured out our defense we could get kills,” Sunnyslope senior right side Kassadie Kimmel said.
Kimmel is “like a little spark plug,” according to Geer. She ignites a fire within the team, keeping the energy high helping rally the team to the win.
“I kinda just get excited for every point, no matter how small or how big. I just like to be a leader,” Kimmel said.
Sunnyslope has competed in the playoffs each of the past 20 years. Since the move up to the 6A conference in 2020, Sunnyslope has not been as successful reaching the championships like it used to when dominating the 5A conference.
Geer is working on keeping the girls fresh by preparing them by working on improvements for the next match and encouraging them to have more confidence.
“Putting it all together and then just believing we're playing to win. I'm trying to get them to bring that kind of play in each game,” Geer said.
No. 4 Sunnyslope will take on No. 5 Liberty in the quarterfinals at home on Tuesday, November 12 at 6 p.m.
Comments