Kings edge Toros in 5-set thriller

AWC soccer teams beat Mesa on road

The Kofa volleyball team has played a few close matches this year, but perhaps none closer or more exciting than Thursday night’s five-set victory over Mountain View Mesa at Ernest F. Rillos Gym.

The Kings fought off four match points in an extended fifth set to come away with a 25-21, 22-25, 11-25, 2519, 20-18 win over the Toros.

Kofa, which entered the day ranked No. 11 in 6A with three (now two) matches remaining in the regular season, improved to 15-1 AIA.

In the fifth set, Mountain View Mesa (5-11) jumped out to a 7-3 lead before the Kings rattled off seven straight points to go up 10-7. A 5-1 Toros run a short time later gave them a 14-12 lead, before a 3-0 spurt by the Kings gave them their first match point of the night.

Mountain View Mesa tied it at 1515, then took leads of 16-15 and 18-17. Kofa’s Keiley Sharp fought off the first of those match points with a kill, and Jocelyn Weber the other with a block.

At 18-18, Kofa’s Pam Aguilar had an attempted kill that sailed wide — but after the point was initially awarded to the Toros, it was ruled that a Mountain View Mesa player touched the ball and Kofa was given the 19-18 lead.

Kofa’s Kayla Porchas then ended the match with an ace.

“It was a wild ride — sadness, happiness, it was all-around exciting,” Kofa coach Makyla Orman said. “There was a point where I thought maybe we don’t have this and then they started picking it up and I was like alright we got this.

“That fifth set was so nerve-racking. My heart is beating so fast.”

Sharp had 11 kills, four digs and three blocks, Isabel Ponce had 27 assists and Aguilar had eight kills.

Kofa closes the regular season out next week with matches against San Luis on Monday and at Westwood on Tuesday.

MORE PREP VOLLEYBALL Cibola 3, San Luis 0

Cielo Echols (7 kills, 14 assists), Rylee Lakey (8 kills, 5 aces) and Milly

Acosta (13 assists) led the way for the Raiders, who improved to 6-10 AIA and 2-2 region.

JUCO WOMEN’S SOCCER AWC 4, Mesa 0

The No. 2 Matadors (190 overall) are now one win away from a perfect regular season.

Christiana Boateng scored her 26th goal of the season in the second minute and that was shortly followed up by a goal from Nastia Loughran in the eighth minute.

Isabel Coronado scored late in the first half, and in the 69th minute Karen Melendrez scored her 10th goal of the season.

JUCO MEN’S SOCCER AWC 2, Mesa 0

Arturo Ledezma scored just before half off of an assist by Ramon Izabel to take a 1-0 lead. In the 65th minute Steve Mendoza scored on an assist by Jamison Ingram to win 2-0.

AWC (13-5-1) will close the regular season Saturday at Paradise Valley.