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Mia Stankiewicz

Natalie Williams

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ADMINISTRATION

NOVEMBER 4, 2015

By Al Bravo, Special to Tribune

Gilbert overcomes 2-0 deficit to beat Perry - The third-seeded Gilbert Tigers have been looking for the right formula to make a deeper run in the Division I state volleyball tournament.

After winning the big school title in 2011, Gilbert has not reached the semifinals the last three years in a row.

After two sets on Thursday, the pattern looked to continue.

“At that point, it’s who wants it more,” said libero Kameryn Hill. “I know me and (outside hitter) Makenna Martin have been wanting this ever since our freshman year. We have always lost in the quarterfinals. This was our goal, to get passed it and we know we can win this year. Our team believed in us and all we worked together and we made it. We pushed and fought and didn’t let up.”

Despite coming up short early, the Tigers rallied for a 24-26, 23-25, 25-18, 25-19, 15-11 win over No. 6 Perry to advance to Saturday’s semifinals at Mesquite. Gilbert will face No. 2 Phoenix Xavier Prep, who easily swept Corona del Sol in its quarterfinal match on Thursday.

For the Tigers (32-10), the quarterfinal was more than a tightly played match, according to coach Joe Hesse.

“You have to be able to overcome adversity at this time of year,” Hesse said. “We played really well last week against Hamilton, our best match of the year. (We) carried that into this week, go down 0-2 and now it tests you. Now you see what you have and they figured it out. Does this help us? Absolutely.”

Maybe Gilbert could parlay its quarterfinal struggles against Xavier. The Tigers have plenty to draw from.

Gilbert led 23-20 in the first set and 22-17 in the second before losing. Perry rallied by running off four straight points to get the lead and hold on in the first game. In the second, the Pumas overcame six service errors to rally.

“We are pretty limited in the adjustments we can make because we are not super deep,” Hesse said. “So the adjustments we were making were mental – we can do this. We got to 22 and couldn’t win. It’s our place, we are the better team if we are playing well, so it’s just a momentum thing. When you get it and you keep it, you win. It doesn’t matter who is on the other side.”

Gilbert re-established its offense with Kaitlyn Lines and Krystal Blair at the net and Makenna Martin in a supporting role. Perry had found a way to keep Lines in check with a timely block strategy.

The Tigers’ leading hitter admitted it shook her confidence but she and her teammates turned it around in the third and fourth set, although Perry kept it close. Unforced errors ultimately doomed the Pumas.

In the deciding set, Gilbert took control early and after scoring the first four points, never led by less than three points. Alexa Rockas had a couple of key kills late to help secure the win.

Perry sophomore middle Kennedy Kaminsky held her own against Lines, with help from Hannah Stevenson. Taylor Knoll and Ryann Davis had plenty of success to pace the Perry offense but the service errors and defensive miscues were too much to overcome.

“Our program is improving,” Perry coach Fred Mann said. “Our girls are improving. They are close. We are proud of them. We tried to negate what they were doing, in the end, they outmatched us in the middle, I think.”

Gilbert has reached the final eight for the last 14 years in a row. Perry, in just its ninth year of existence, has reached the postseason the last three years.

NOVEMBER 7, 2015

By Al Bravo, Special to Tribune

Gilbert  stopped in semifinals - Gilbert got as close to reaching the state championship match as you can get – and not get there.

“We’re 24-22 with the ball in game four,” said Tigers coach Joe Hesse. “In game five, who knows what’s going to happen and when you have the best terminator around, she did what she does.”

Hesse was referring to Xavier’s Khalia Lanier, the consensus player of the year in Arizona, who figured prominently all night, including during the most critical stages.

“It was about who had the momentum for the rest of the game,” Gilbert libero Kameryn Hill added. “You carry that into the next set. It was back-and-forth and back-and-forth. We played our hearts out, just some unforced errors on our side a little bit. We fought hard.”

Despite having a 24-22 lead in the fourth game and 10-8 in the fifth, the third-seeded Tigers fell to No. 2 Xavier 25-16, 22-25, 18-25, 26-24, 15-12, in the state Division I volleyball semifinals on Saturday at Mesquite

After not being able to bounce back in the first set, Gilbert found its offense and took advantage of Xavier’s unforced errors to win the next two and put itself in position for a return to the final for the first time since winning it all in 2011.

The Tigers have lost in the quarterfinals for the last three years until rallying from an 0-2 deficit against sixth-seeded Perry on Thursday.

In the pivotal fourth set, Xavier’s Lanier put away the ball down the line to get Xavier the ball back trailing 24-23. A Gilbert serve receive error left the game tied and then Lanier got a block and a kill to send the match to a deciding set.

“Obviously the game plan revolves around trying to defend her,” Hesse said of Lanier. “Not many people are able to do that well. We gave it a shot. They beat us with their best player.”

The see-saw fifth set saw neither team take more than a one-point advantage until Gilbert ran off three straight points on a Kaitlyn Lines kill, a block by Alexa Rockas on Lanier and an ace by Makenna Martin to give the Tigers a 10-8 lead.

Lines hit the ball long and the Xavier rally was on. The game was tied at 12 when Lanier took over. She got kills on the last three points to secure the win.

“I’m glad we went down fighting rather than not giving it our all, so that is what I am happy about,” Hill said.

Xavier coach Lamar-Renee Bryant added, “Gilbert is a fantastic team. Their seniors were great. The ball just bounced our way tonight.”

Gilbert volleyball winning while working on chemistry
By Al Bravo special to Tribune - October 13, 2015

With less than a month left in the regular season, there’s enough time to make adjustments and make a run in the state tournament.

The Gilbert Tigers would like to think so.

After an impressive showing at the 64-team Nike Tournament of Champions last weekend, the Tigers got even more attention. Observers know about the talent level. Five of Gilbert’s regulars are headed for Division I programs once they finish high school.

But if you ask the players or coach Joe Hesse, there is just a bit of hesitation despite being 21-5 entering the final three weeks of the season.

“We’re right there, we are very close, and we know it,” Hesse said after his team finished off top-ranked Phoenix Xavier to win the Gold division of the tournament.

Co-captain Makenna Martin would agree.

“We are working on that mindset,” she said. “We have a lot of great individuals, but at the moment we are trying to work together as a team, get everybody together, it will come, we will peak at the right time.”

Even Martin was a bit tentative in talking about her team, saying it was a work in progress.

Again, not that this is a group lacking in talent or confidence. The Tigers were excited about their win over Xavier — none of the players on the roster have experienced that. But you could measure a bit of disappointment that Gilbert didn’t reach the elite “Platinum” division bracket on Saturday at the Kroc Salvation Army gym in south Phoenix.

The Tigers were dropped into the second “Gold” division tier after losing to eventual champion Portland (Ore.) Jesuit in the placement match. But there is even a silver lining there — Gilbert took a set from Jesuit, which hasn’t lost a set all season and is ranked in the top 10 nationally by MaxPreps.

“That’s our first step. This is a good step to have,” Martin said of the tournament experience. “So we have this.”

Again, the pieces are in place. Junior outside hitter Kaitlyn Lines and Martin pace the attack, each averaging more than three kills per set. Sophomore Krystal Blair has added to the effort with setter Sam Boever and libero Kameryn Hill as court leaders. (As of Oct. 5, Gilbert was third in power points behind Xavier and Hamilton.)

There’s a lot of talent just stepping out on the court.

Seniors Hill (Loyola Marymount), Martin (Arizona) and Boever (Northern Illinois) are set to go to the next level with Lines (Utah) and junior middle Alexa Rockas (University of San Francisco) having committed early.

So what’s missing?

“I think we are still working on team cohesion, team chemistry, we have some strong personalities, but when we are all firing on the same wavelength, we’re pretty good,” Hesse said. “We have a lot of options. So if we can manage to figure that out for the last month, our top group is pretty talented.”

Hill reiterated: “We are working on our chemistry because it is not all there,” she said. “We are getting to that point where our chemistry is getting a lot better. If we keeping working on that and working on where we are supposed to be playing on defense, where we are supposed to be on the court, trusting other people to get to balls, then we will be better.”

Gilbert has its own invitational tournament and matches against Mesa and Basha still left on the schedule, not to mention a meeting with title favorite Hamilton during the final week of the season.

“I think we definitely have the confidence to get there; we just have to work on our skill level,” Hill added.

Martin noted that the team has made strides.

“Our setter (Boever) is just starting this year,” Martin said. “(She’s) a great, great setter, definitely worked hard during club season to earn her spot. Our middle Krystal Blair has improved immensely, transition a lot quicker, improving on every point and being so positive.”