Southern Regional Final Recap: Bishop Gorman vs Coronado

<!-- wp:image {"id":715858,"width":"560px","height":"auto","sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/11/IMG_3495.jpeg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-715858" style="width:560px;height:auto" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Coronado Getting Ready To Play</figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>On Saturday 11/02/2024, the two heavyweights of Las Vegas squared off in a rematch to the previous year's state championship match. This time, instead of a neutral site, the two teams played on Coronado's home floor. Defending state champion #1 ranked Bishop Gorman came into the match having neither losing a match or even a set to any Nevada teams. Coronado entered the match undefeated in league play and ranked #2 two in the state. In fact, the last Nevada team to take a set off of Gorman came in last year's state championship match. This match featured several NCAA Division 1 committed players, so fireworks were expected. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Set 1</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The first set started off fast with each of the team's star players providing some big swings as Hawaii commit [player_tooltip player_id='543103' first='Rachel' last='Purser'] hammered a ball in the middle, Pitt commit [player_tooltip player_id='203840' first='Ayanna' last='Watson'] and UNLV commit [player_tooltip player_id='550487' first='Julie' last='Beckham'] traded big shots down the line that hit the opposing team's line defender and brought cheers from the crowd. Bishop Gorman freshman [player_tooltip player_id='543916' first='Boyana' last='Pesic'] stepped with a big shot of her own. Middles [player_tooltip player_id='249448' first='Brooklyn' last='Williams'] (Bishop Gorman) and [player_tooltip player_id='543091' first='Hannah' last='Wayment'] (Coronado) also got involved with timely hitting and Wayment getting a crowd pleasing stuff block on Watson. The first set remained close until Watson tipped a kill at 15-13 and then the rails started to come off for Coronado. Gorman's Williams went back to serve and ran off a few points with [player_tooltip player_id='543140' first='Ellie' last='Prindl'] putting up a solid block, Coronado struggled to sideout and Gorman's stout defense converted digs and pick ups into swings for [player_tooltip player_id='203840' first='Ayanna' last='Watson']. Coronado's [player_tooltip player_id='548336' first='Reagan' last='Vint'] battled to keep the ball in play, but even when the Cougars would dig Watson, it would go over the net for a second chance on offense for the Gaels. Pitt Commit [player_tooltip player_id='325888' first='Trinity' last='Thompson'] would ace Beckham twice in the later stages of the set to ultimately pull away as the Gaels won 25-15 in the first set. Ball control would prove to be theme for Coronado going forward. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Set 2</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The second set proved to be more of the same as Coronado battled back and forth early, never trailing by more than 3. At 13-10, Gorman started to pull away as Coronado committed multiple unforced errors. Even when Coronado stayed in system, Gorman was able to play great defense and convert those opportunities into points. As an outside observer, the theme of the match was making the most of opportunities. Gorman played great defense most of the match and was able to turn around and score off of their defense and Coronado was not able to consistently do the same. [player_tooltip player_id='550487' first='Julie' last='Beckham'] provided some great hits to keep the Cougars in it, but ultimately Gorman wore them down closing the set on a 12-5 run to win set 2 25-15.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Set 3</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The third set appeared to repeat the first two until early on when it seemed that Gorman was going to pull away early, establishing a 14-8 lead. Coronado responded with some very inspired volleyball and fought back to make it a dog fight for the rest of the third set. All of the major players had big moments in the third set and showcased their abilities. UC Riverside commit [player_tooltip player_id='221014' first='Rachel' last='Schwartz'] had a winning a joust against Watson immediately after what seemed like an out call on a Watson swing the play before to keep the Cougars fired up. Schwartz navigated the Cougars by mixing it up with Purser and Beckham. Purser mixed up a couple of big hits with some smart tips in the middle, and Beckham worked her tool bag with tooling the block and delivering some of the biggest swings of the day. The difference at the end was Coronado was unable to maintain momentum after a big point. Beckham saved one match point with her biggest hit of the day and then Watson finished off the Cougars for good with her final kill the next play to end the set at 25-23 and securing Gorman's victory. The silver lining for Coronado is both teams were assured a berth in the state semifinals as they will face off against the Northern Region Champions Bishop Manogue. The Gaels of Bishop Gorman will face off against Reno with both matches taking place on Friday, 11/08/2024.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Stat Leaders and Highlights</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Coronado was led on offense by [player_tooltip player_id='550487' first='Julie' last='Beckham']'s 17 kills while hitting .516%. [player_tooltip player_id='543103' first='Rachel' last='Purser'] had 11 kills and 2 blocks and [player_tooltip player_id='221014' first='Rachel' last='Schwartz'] dished out 31 assists. The Cougars were led in total digs by [player_tooltip player_id='545761' first='Isabelle' last='Guerzon']'s 9. Coronado's lone ace was from GCU commit [player_tooltip player_id='525323' first='Gentry' last='Oblad'], who also had 5 kills.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Bishop Gorman was led on offense by [player_tooltip player_id='203840' first='Ayanna' last='Watson']'s 24 kills while hitting .512%. [player_tooltip player_id='249448' first='Brooklyn' last='Williams'] was highly efficient in the middle with 6 kills on 9 attempts and led with 4 of the Gaels 11 aces. [player_tooltip player_id='716112' first='Carsyn' last='Stansberry'] had 8 kills and 8 digs. [player_tooltip player_id='543916' first='Boyana' last='Pesic'] led the Gaels with 13 digs to go along with her 4 kills and 3 aces. [player_tooltip player_id='325888' first='Trinity' last='Thompson'] doled out 40 assists. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:html --> https://www.instagram.com/reel/DCAkaJPyL1J/?igsh=MXQ0dHcyc25wcml5cQ== <!-- /wp:html --> <!-- wp:html --> https://www.instagram.com/reel/DCAjbuUSrzi/?igsh=dHhndW5tdXlwdjho <!-- /wp:html --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->