VOLLEYBALL: Focused Palo Verde wins Las Vegas Invitational

Palo Verde girls volleyball coach Greg Siqueiros walked out of the Las Vegas High gym Saturday night carrying a first-place medal and some important knowledge about his team.

“Our focus has completely changed,” Siqueiros said. “We used to be a team that focused on the next opponent. This team is focused on us. We haven’t done that before.”

Kendall Cheval had eight kills and eight digs, and the Panthers came from behind in each set to defeat Green Valley 26-24, 25-19 in the championship match of the Las Vegas Invitational.

Stephanie Herman added 20 assists and nine digs for Palo Verde and was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player.

Green Valley’s Nikki Drost finished with a match-high 11 kills and added seven digs. Alley Seidler had 14 assists, and Amanda Lake chipped in with 10 digs for the Gators, who returned five starters from last year’s state runner-up team.

Green Valley controlled most of the first set and led 21-16 when Drost ended a long rally with a cross-court kill. But the Panthers scored five straight points and took a 24-22 lead on an ace from Faryn Duncan.

The Gators staved off two set points before a kill from Palo Verde’s McCall Phillips and an ace from Herman closed out the set.

“We played like it was 0-0,” Siqueiros said, “and that’s what brought us out of deficits.”

Palo Verde, with every starter back from the team that ran the table in the Northwest League last season, trailed 16-14 in the second set until Phillips sparked a 6-0 run with back-to-back aces. The Gators never got closer than three points the rest of the way.

“This definitely exposed a couple of things,” Gators coach Erin Hill said. “It comes down to serving and passing — the fundamentals — and unforced errors, and Palo didn’t make any and we made far too many.”

Phillips contributed seven kills, and Duncan led the Panthers defense with 14 digs.

“Our motto this year is ‘Never Satisfied,’ ” Siqueiros said. “We worked hard all summer long to achieve various goals, and the first one was the LVI.”

Palo Verde knocked off defending Sunset Region champion Bishop Gorman 25-22, 25-22 to reach the title match. The Gators outlasted Sunrise Region rival Coronado 17-25, 25-22, 15-13 in the other semifinal.

Among those named to the all-tournament team were: Palo Verde’s Cheval and Phillips, Green Valley’s Drost and Shanna Olsen, Coronado’s Cali Thompson, Bishop Gorman’s Gianni Ruggeroli and Foothill’s Christina Beaver.

Polytechnic (Calif.) 2, Calvary Chapel 1 — At Foothill, Polytechnic rallied for a 23-25, 25-16, 15-11 win over the Lions in the semifinal of the Consolation Bracket.

Brooke Davis had 17 assists, eight digs and two aces, and Deja Harris added 12 kills and six digs for Calvary Chapel.

Calvary Chapel 2, Durango 0 — At Foothill, Davis had 19 assists, five digs and four kills, and Harris supplied 13 kills and two blocks to help the Lions to a 25-18, 25-17 win over the Trailblazers in quarterfinal action.

Athena Lewis added seven digs, and Lexi Davis had four aces and three digs for Calvary Chapel.

Calvary Chapel 2, Golden Valley (Calif.) 0 — At Foothill, Brooke Davis had 16 assists, four digs and three aces to help the Lions to a 25-19, 25-19 win over Golden Valley in the opening round of bracket play.

Deja Harris had seven kills and three aces, and Alexis Harris had six kills and seven digs for Calvary Chapel.

Skyline (Utah) 2, Calvary Chapel 0 — At Las Vegas, Skyline downed the Lions, 25-16, 26-24 in pool play.

Brooke Davis had 12 assists and five digs, and Deja Harris added nine kills, five digs and three blocks for Calvary Chapel, which got seven digs from Lewis.

Calvary Chapel 2, Buhach Colony (Calif.) 0 — At Las Vegas, Deja Harris had seven kills and three digs as the Lions topped Buhach Colony, 25-22, 25-14 in pool play.

Brooke Davis had 17 assists, four digs and three aces, and Alexis Harris had four kills and four digs for Calvary Chapel.