NIAA STATE VOLLEYBALL PREVIEW

Here is a capsule look at area teams in the upcoming NIAA State Volleyball Championships

DIVISION I

Carson (No. 2 North) vs. Coronado (No. 1 South), 6:20 Friday at Galena

This is a David vs. Goliath match-up. Coronado went unbeaten in league and takes a 32-7 record into the contest while Carson enters at 18-9. Coronado boasts arguably the best player in the state in 6-foot-4 middle blocker/opposite Berkeley Oblad, who is headed to the University of Utah. Oblad has 243 kills (58.7 percent and 44.0 hitting percentage) along with 59 blocks and 39 service aces. Junior 5-9 Emily Bender (137 kills, 46 aces, 20 blocks, 143 digs), 6-foot Nikki Jackson (177 kills, 51 aces, 59 digs and 32 blocks) and 5-9 Carolyn Andrulis (130 kills, 33 aces and 128 digs complement Oblad. Libero Sabrina Lyen had 226 digs this year. Carson is led at the net by Jaycie Roberts, Juliana Anderson and Maddie Jergesen. Roberts led the team in kills with 277 and was second in digs with 205. She also had 41 blocks. Anderson had 258 kills, 135 digs and 22 blocks. Jergesen had 143 kills, and 90 blocks. Kylie Riske has been solid with 79 kills, 19 aces, 26 digs and 85 blocks. Libero Makenzie Tucker has a team-leading 221 digs and a team-best 63 aces.

Douglas (No. 1 North) vs. Shadow Ridge (No. 2 South) 8 p.m. Friday at Galena

Shadow Ridge went 7-1 in league and is 24-8 overall. Ashley Smith, a 6-foot senior, has 348 kills, 59 aces, 254 digs and 27 blocks, and Chloe Gruwell has 273 kills, 250 digs, 9 kills and 78 aces. Whittnee Nihipali, a 6-2 freshman, had 162 kills, 42 blocks and 65 digs, while 6-foot Easton Clements had 129 kills, 32 aces, 62 blocks and 68 digs. Caitlin Pascual is the human ball-return machine with 494 digs. Douglas, 20-12 overall, had three five-set matches en route to winning its second regional crown in four years. Carmen Shaw, a 6-foot senior, and 5-10 Ariah Barth are the leading hitters with 311 and 250 kills, respectively. Sophomore Isabelle Peterson came on strong last week, and has 170 kills. Shaw served up 48 aces and had 93 blocks. Barth had 18 aces, 120 digs and 20 blocks. Raychel Allen is a solid libero with a team-leading 287 digs. Freshman setter Talyn Jackson had 138 digs, 53 aces, 15 blocks and 138 digs. She can hurt you all over the court, as she rarely comes out of a game. Keep an eye on Aubrey Caires, who had 137 kills.

DIVISION III

Yerington (No. 1 North) vs. The Meadows (No. 2 South), 4:40 Friday at Wooster

The Lions, despite being a Division III team could compete at a higher level as evidenced by its win over Douglas this season. The Lions went 34-2 overall and 12-0 in league. Kassidy Lommori and Chloe Dane dominated at the net with 457 kills and 278 kills, respectively. Lommori’s kill percentage was 44.4. Lommori also led the team in digs (265) and blocks (70). Dane finished with 51 blocks, 55 aces and 236 digs. Yerington had six players with at least 150 digs. Setter Ashley Rife had 683 assists, 32 aces, 23 blocks, 58 kills and 222 digs. The Meadows didn’t have any stats listed on MaxPreps.

DIVISION IV

Virginia City (No. 2 North) vs. Pahranagat Valley (No. 1 South), Friday at 3 p.m. at Wooster

The Muckers went 24-5 overall, while PV went undefeated at 10-0 in league and 21-6 overall. The Muckers, who only suit up eight players, are led by Niki D’Agostino, Bethany Fuller, Nicole Huffman and Gwyn Landaburu. D’Agostini had 275 kills, 114 blocks, 143 aces, and 248 digs. Huffman had 145 kills, 68 aces, 432 assists and 135 digs. Fuller is No. 3 in kills with 155, second in digs with 190 and she also has 11 assists. Jordan Seddon had 50 kills, 84 blocks, 15 aces and 29 digs. Kim Tiapa (112 kills), Shalynn Call (152 digs) and Chloe Branson (145 digs) are all solid defensive oriented players. No stats were available for PV.