DIVISION I VOLLEYBALL: Sophomore anchors Foothill in win over Arbor View

Foothill’s Troy Bell earned a call-up to the varsity volleyball team as a freshman last season exclusively to be a defensive specialist in the state tournament.

That experience proved to be valuable, as the sophomore libero anchored the Falcons against one of the toughest offensive teams in Southern Nevada on Tuesday.

Bell finished with 32 digs to lead the Falcons to a 25-15, 19-25, 25-20, 25-17 win over Sunset Region champ Arbor View in the Division I state semifinals at Legacy.

Foothill (29-11) will meet Green Valley (26-5) in the state final at 6 p.m. Wednesday at Legacy.

“(Bell) did a fantastic job of getting in lanes when he needed to and staying outside the block when we went three (players) up,” Foothill coach Chris Sisson said. “He started reading tips. He was picking stuff up. That’s incredible for a sophomore to play that well.

“That’s why we brought him up last year to play at state.”

Bell kept numerous points alive in the match and was a main reason Arbor View standouts Treven Clizbe and Brenden Wagner couldn’t find their normal rhythm.

“We’ve just come together and are one big family,” Bell said. “We played very well. We were reading the blocks and working on all the little things on defense.”

Behind Bell and a solid front line, the Falcons slowed down Clizbe (19 kills, 16 digs) and Wagner (14 kills, 11 digs).

“They knew where we were going to go,” said Arbor View coach John Gibbons, whose team finished 36-4. “And even though we were (in position) sometimes, they just got the ball and put it back up.”

Foothill came out fired up in the first set, grabbing a 21-10 lead and forcing Arbor View to call two timeouts.

“I was confident that we had a good game plan and that we could execute it,” Sisson said. “We put our guys in good position and they went out and handled it. We still made some knucklehead errors out there, but we limited them and capitalized on the opportunities we had.”

Arbor View took the second set on two consecutive kills by Clizbe, but the Falcons won the next two sets after rediscovering their early intensity.

“We had a letdown in that second set,” Sisson said. “We put it on cruise control for a moment and our intensity settled. Just mistakes we weren’t making in the first set. You can’t do that against good teams.”

Foothill became only the second Southern Nevada team to beat Arbor View this season. Bonanza topped the Aggies in five sets on April 14.

“It all starts with our block in the front,” Sisson said. “We had a great game plan with our block. And I told them, ‘As long as you’re doing your job, Troy is going to be right behind you.’”

Shilo Chow had 42 assists, six kills, 13 digs and three aces for the Falcons. Zach Thompson had 11 kills and eight blocks, and Eric Szukiewicz added 10 kills, three blocks and eight digs for Foothill.

Brenden Gougeon had 36 assists and 11 digs, and Michael Prescia added 24 digs for the Aggies.

“You’ve got to give it to Foothill for the blocks, the digs, the flying around to get balls up that we thought were down,” Gibbons said. “It shocked our kids sometimes, but unbelievable job from Foothill. Chris (Sisson) did a wonderful job. The kids were prepared and ready to go.”

Green Valley 3, Palo Verde 0 — Chase Larson had 14 kills and six blocks, and Dustin Elliott added 10 kills and 10 digs to help the Gators to a 25-18, 25-18, 25-21 sweep of the defending state champions.

“That Palo team is a tough team,” Green Valley coach Emily Baracco said. “I think our boys — it was evident in the long rallies — that they were just not going to give up. We were super scrappy all night. Our passing was a little off, but we made up for it with our refusal to let the ball hit the ground. …

“These guys just have it in their heads that they won’t be denied. They’re not letting anything get them down right now.”

Zachary Hewitt had 39 assists, 10 digs and two aces, and James Reed notched eight kills, five digs and two blocks for the Gators, who will be looking for their first state championship on Wednesday.

Green Valley — the state runner-up in 2000 — has won three of its five matches against Foothill this season.

“Foothill is not going to lay down for us, by any measure,” Baracco said. “They’ve been tough. They’ve beaten us this year. We’re not taking them lightly. They’re well-coached, they’ve got a big front line, and a scrappy defense, too. It will be a great match.”

Haden Van Orden led Palo Verde with 22 assists and nine digs. Chandler Juilfs had eight kills, and Scott Solan had six kills for the Panthers (29-12).

“Not our night,” Palo Verde coach Phil Clarke said. “Green Valley played great, and we just picked a bad night to not play well. But they’ve been on a roll. They played well and took advantage of the mistakes we made. It was not lack of heart or effort. Just one of those nights.”