Cienega captures first state championship since 2017
Arizona boys high school volleyball championships were held Saturday in the 4A through 6A conferences. Here is a roundup of games that finished in time for the Arizona Republic's deadline. For full reports, visit azcentral.com/sports/ high-schools.
5A: Cienega breaks through for championship
Tariq Denetso thought back to training.
Minutes after his deflection won Cienega its first state title since 2017, the junior outside hitter remembered working on the move that he used to block the set-tying shot from Gilbert's Trenton Moser.
"We practiced that in practice, where I would go up and just block backwards," Denetso said. "I would watch Trenton and see his elbow where (it) went and I would go right where it was."
Denetso's play clinched the Bobcats' 3-0 win over GIlbert (25-19, 25-19, 2826) in Saturday's 5A title match, returning the squad to the pinnacle of Arizona high school boys volleyball after a loss in last year's championship.
The win is a massive achievement for a program that faced difficult matches throughout its season — including against 4A runner-up American Leadership Academy-Gilbert North — and persevered, just like it did Saturday at Skyline High School against one of the top programs in the division.
"It's huge for me," head coach Heather Mott said. "It's huge for our principal. It's huge for our community. It's just huge all the way around."
Heading into their third finals appearance in five years, the Bobcats (34-4) knew they had to focus on Moser, a 6-7 senior outside hitter committed to Brigham Young University. But their strategy wasn't to stop him. It was to slow him down. As junior opposite hitter/middle blocker Mason Tippett put it: "We knew where the ball was going 90 percent of the time."
The Tigers (28-6) certainly used Moser in the first set, lofting passes to the front left of the court, where he waited to spike them. But Cienega was still able find success from players such as senior outside hitter/middle blocker Derrick Vargas, who stood tall at the net to deflect some of Moser's shot attempts. These efforts not only gave the Bobcats the first set, but also ways to take advantage during the rest of the match.
Senior outside hitter Taylor Allen and Tippett fired a mix of fast, lobbed and slow-moving shots that found holes in Gilbert's formation. Meanwhile, Denetso joined Vargas and others blocking the ball up close, while sophomore libero Jake Shroder advantageously positioned his serve so his teammates could quickly go on the offensive.
4A: ALA-Queen Creek wins second straight title
Head coach Tim Zemp wasn't worried about his team heading into the state finals.
Despite being the championship's lower seed, he knew No. 4 American Leadership Academy-Queen Creek would be prepared. After all, the Patriots were the defending state champion and in the midst of a spectacular playoff run.
On Saturday at Skyline High School in Mesa, Zemp's squad proved him right as ALA-Queen Creek defeated No. 3 ALA-Gilbert North in four sets (25-21, 25-20, 25-27, 25-17) to win its second straight 4A Conference state volleyball championship.
"Last year was sweet," Zemp said. "After our COVID year was redemption ... this year was just solidifying who we are in Arizona."
For the Patriots (33-2), the championship victory marked the culmination of one of the most successful stretches in program history. The team, which was moved down from 5A in 2020, was led by six seniors and took advantage of its position to bring home multiple trophies.
Playing the Eagles (35-9) for the fifth time this season, ALA-Queen Creek quickly took advantage of a familiar opponent in the first set. It raced out to a 13-8 advantage and eventually led 1911.
But ALA-Gilbert North didn't waver, standing tall at the net and taking advantage of unforced errors to cut its deficit to 23-20. However, the Eagles couldn't stop senior middle hitter Brady Steele, who used his height to spike down two straight shots and win the first set.
The second set followed a similar narrative, as ALA-Gilbert North struggled to stop the potent combination of Steele and senior outside hitters Brock Huber and Jett Hall, whose slams and blocks helped the Patriots take a 17-10 advantage. Huber's spike eventually broke a four-point rally by the Eagles, while the smooth serving and setting from junior Benjamin Nygren set the tone for the rally that gave ALA-Queen Creek a 2-0 lead.
"Our strategy was just pretty much feed our middle and having him pull, so we could just bounce on them," said Huber, who stands 6-2. "It worked pretty well."
But not as much in the third set, as ALA-Gilbert North came from behind to take a 13-11 lead. In the ensuing timeout, Hall said Zemp told them that the Eagles were playing "the best game of their lives" and that the set may not go their way.
It almost did, however, as ALAQueen Creek battling through consecutive set points to tie the match at 25. Yet the Eagles notched an impressive ace down the middle of the court to win the third frame, sending their fans into a frenzy as their championship hopes remained alive.