The ball went up near the net, setting Xavier Prep’s Serena Turner up for a kill shot. She swung hard and her opponent from Phoenix Sandra Day O’Connor made contact on a block attempt. Instead of landing in bounds, it was out.
Turner,
Xavier’s senior star, dropped to her knees and almost appeared ready to bury
herself in the sand, putting her hands over her face as if she did not first
believe what had occurred.
Her
blue-uniformed teammates surrounded her and piled on top of her, screaming at
the top of their lungs to salute her and her No. 1 teammate, sophomore Summer
McCann, after Xavier claimed the Division I beach volleyball state title, 4-1,
at Casteel High in Queen Creek on Thursday night (May 13).
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Xavier's Gators celebrate the school's eighth beach volleyball state title in the last nine years (Photo by Don Ketchum). |
Xavier
finished unbeaten at 16-0 and earned the title for the eighth time in nine seasons
of the sport with an adventurous effort that might rival any of their
predecessors on the excitement scale.
Turner and
McCann had dropped their first game 21-16 to O’Connor’s Margo Smith and Sydnee
Broadway, then came back to win the next one 23-21 as well as the 15-13 finale.
It would be
part of a memorable week for Turner and fellow senior Zaira Reyes, who with
junior Katie Anthony won in a nail-biting duel between No. 3 teams, 22-20 and
23-21. The two seniors got the title they had so longed for and on Saturday
(May 15) will wear their caps and gowns as they graduate from XCP. And you can
add team manager Tessa Guthrie to the list.
“I am so
full of emotion right now. I feel so blessed to be able to play on such as
amazing team. I owe this all to God,’’ said Turner, who moves on to Stanford to
play beach and study computer science and environmental science.
“There were
some close games, we all worked so hard and it paid off,’’ she added.
Turner
admitted to being a bit stunned by how the final play turned out in the third
game.
“It kind of
hit me that after that play, I thought, “That was my last swing at Xavier,’ ’’
she said. “It is something that I will always remember.’’
Another
memory is her own block to clinch the second game and signal a comeback was
imminent.
Reyes will
be headed to the University of Rochester (N.Y.) to play indoor volleyball and
pursue a degree in mechanical engineering.
“This week
has been a rollercoaster of emotion,’’ she said. “Yesterday (Wednesday) was our
last day of class. You keep thinking about that all day and then you’re trying
to get ready for this match.’’
“We have so
many age groups on this team but we all support each other no matter what. We
are like a family.’’
She enjoyed
playing both indoor and beach.
“In beach, there
is a lot of bonding. It is relaxed and it is fun.’’
For Gators
head coach Tim McHale, winning it all never gets old. The 2021 title was the sixth under his
leadership.
He had a
strong group of assistants, Anna Pangiotakopoulos, Jenny Scott and Cierra
Flood.
A new
wrinkle was tossed into the mix during the tournament run.
One of the
players suggested that she be allowed to paint his fingernails in the school
colors of blue and green, the left hand signifying the protection of the No. 1
seeding and the right being added if the Gators reached the title game.
“I’m not too
into that kind of stuff but I decided to go with it, if it helps motivate the
players, it would be a good thing,’’ he said.
Xavier
defeated O’Connor on April 7, 3-2, its closest match of the regular season, so
McHale knew this would be similar. Xavier lost the first two games in the first
meeting, but rallied to win the final three.
“The last
time, our 5’s and 4’s didn’t put their best foot forward, but they were a lot
better today,’’ he said.
This time,
the 4’s team of junior Alexa Shiner and junior Tiffany Tellez “did a remarkable
job, were steady,’’ said McHale. “And I think at one point in one of Zaira’s
games, they were down by five but were able to come back.
“The main
thing was, we started the match as a family and finished as a family.’’
Championship results
No. 5
pairing – Emma Soncrat-Trinity Freeman, SDO, def. Trinity Tran-Mei Tsou, X,
21-10, 21-18.
No. 4
pairing – Alexa Shiner-Tiffany Tellez, X, def. Liana Huesca-Piper Rama, SDO,
14-21, 21-14, 15-11.
No. 3
pairing – Zaira Reyes-Katie Anthony, X, def. Sophia Myers-Tristan Smith, SDO,
22-20, 23-21.
No. 2
pairing – Lexi Yoza-Landree Coats, X, def. Ashlyn Rough-Hannah Doyle, SDO,
21-15, 16-21, 15-6.
No. 1
pairing – Serena Turner-Summer McCann, X, def. Margo Smith-Sydnee Broadway,
SDO, 16-21, 23-21, 15-13.
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