Greenway sweeps past Salpointe for 4A crown
Both Phoenix Greenway and Tucson Salpointe Catholic entered Monday’s 4A state title game at McClintock High in Tempe with one goal in mind: Bringing home the championship.
As back-to-back champions in 201617, Salpointe was looking for a third consecutive title to wrap up the high school careers of seniors Jenna Johnson, Alex Parkhurst and Madison Sundholm.
Greenway's path was much different. The Demons won the state title in 2015, were dethroned by Salpointe the following season and didn't make it out of the first round of the state tournament last year.
Led by three seniors in Mykenna Nelson, Meghan Greenslade and Halle Gordon, who had tasted a championship three years ago, Greenway had a lot to prove.
“We made sure we were on our feet, ready to go because we knew they’d be here to fight and they’d want it just as much as we did,” Nelson said.
Salpointe walked onto the court for the first set with a confident attitude. Greenway entered overflowing with energy and excitement.
“The bus ride here was fun,” Greenway's Nelson said. “We went and got our nails done before the game and then we sang the whole way here just getting hyped up and ready for the game.”
With strong play by Nelson and freshman standout Tatum Parrott, Greenway took the first set 25-22.
In another back-and-forth battle,
5A, 6A titles to be decided on Wednesday
Top-seeded Phoenix Sunnyslope meets second-seed Goodyear Millennium in the 2018 AIA girls volleyball 5A state championship, while No. 2 Phoenix Xavier Prep and No. 4 Tempe Corona del Sol battle for the 6A crown. Both matches are on Wednesday at Arizona State's Wells Fargo Arena for the first time. The Arizona Interscholastic Association announced the move to ASU's campus in August. The 5A match starts at 6 p.m., while the 6A match will be at 8 p.m. "We are excited to work with ASU," AIA Executive Director David Hines told azpreps365.com. "It now provides the AIA with a venue for us to build up these championships that have outgrown our current venues." The 6A final is rematch of last year’s final, won by Xavier. Sunnyslope won the 5A title last year.
Greenway won the second set 25-21 as Gordon and junior Megan Mattingly joined Nelson and Parrott with pivotal contributions.
Greenway took an early lead in the third set and quickly pulled away, defeating Salpointe 25-16 and winning the title in a sweep.
“We had a motto this year that we were going to go all in, and that really has been the focus,” Greenway coach Sarah Peterson said.
The journey was even sweeter for the seniors.
“It feels amazing, I can’t believe we actually did it,” Nelson said.