‘Fearsome Foursome’ set to lead Sierra Vista into state tournament

Sierra Vista girls volleyball coach Camille McComas often calls a group of her players the “Fearsome Foursome” with hopes of bringing a sense of unity to her practices and games.

Bailey Bergquist, Kira Felise, Sydney Land and Bridgette Levi seem to have taken on their coach’s words as they’ve developed a camaraderie that has taken the Mountain Lions to new heights this season: the school’s first state tournament.

The group, which formed three seasons ago, will face their toughest test yet when they lead Sierra Vista (21-10) against Elko (24-5) at 4:40 p.m. Friday in a Division I-A state semifinal match in Reno.

“We’ve played together for the past three years,” Bergquist said. “All four of us starting has (allowed us) to trust each other on the court. I wouldn’t necessarily say we’re best friends off the court, but on the court, we know each other’s strengths and weaknesses, emotionally and skill-wise.

“I’m expecting tough teams at state. It’s not going to be handed to us. But I have full belief that our girls can fight for this and come out with a championship this weekend.”

Bergquist and Felise are the longest tenured Mountain Lions, as they’ve played on varsity together since their freshman year. They were joined by Land and Levi a season later.

After they missed the playoffs last season for the first time since 2003, the Mountain Lions rode their “Fearsome Foursome” to make a return in Division I-A.

“We have a lot of kids who have been in the program for four years,” said McComas, in her 14th year at the school. “We have some experience. Our expectation when we moved down to (Division) I-A was to put ourselves in this position. We’re where we want to be. We set some goals, and so far, we’re working in that direction. Hopefully we’ll come out on top at the end of the day.”

The Mountain Lions, who lost two league games in the regular season, were the Sunset’s No. 2 seed in the Southern Region tournament. After finishing as region runner-up to defending champion Faith Lutheran, the team is hoping for redemption this weekend.

“I think we’re going to do good at state,” Felise said. “We have good chemistry. It was just a good bond right off the bat because we all know what each other can do. We can trust each other no matter what.”

Said McComas: “I just want to have fun and end up in the final match. No regrets.”

Contact reporter Ashton Ferguson at aferguson@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0430. Follow him on Twitter: @af_ferguson.