Highland sweeps Gilbert for crown
In front of a raucous crowd, No. 2 Gilbert Highland took home the Division I boys volleyball state championship defeating No. 4 Gilbert 25-20, 25-20, 25-22 Saturday night at Gilbert High School.
Tied at 20 in the third game, senior Ryan Morrison took over for Highland, scoring four of the final five points with two kills and two blocks.
“I wanted one of those banners on the wall,” Morrison said. “It went so fast through my mind I just thought, I’m winning this.”
The final point for Highland came appropriately from its captain, senior Jared Greene, who led his team all night on the floor and on the scoreboard. Greenetopped all scorers contributing to 13 points, including an ace in the first game.
“The heart of the team,” Highland coach Vee Hiapo said of her captain. “He keeps them together, the focus that he has and he focuses them back. He refused to let them get out of focus. He’s the kill to their ability to get to 25 points.”
With the close proximity of the schools, both student bodies showed up in force and kept the decibel levels and the energy up throughout the contest. When Greene’s shot hit the floor, the Highland student section stormed the court to celebrate with their team.
Gilbert’s lone glimmer of hope came in the third game when Jarrett Neal finished off a lengthy rally that seemed to steal momentum from Highland. Still trailing 13-7, Gilbert scored four straight points and eventually tied it at 20 before Morrison finished them off.
“Highland is a very good volleyball team. I thought they played their best volleyball,” Gilbert coach Jeff Grover said. “We beat that team before this year. We needed to go to five to beat them tonight; that was my plan. It didn’t happen.”
This was Highland’s first volleyball championship since 2005.