D-I and D-II volleyball finals at a glance

November 10, 2015 by Les Willsey, AZPreps365


The last two volleyball matches of the season take place Tuesday evening (Nov. 10) with the Division I and Division II finals taking place at Mesquite High School.

The D-II final is first at 5:30 p.m. matching #2 Millennium and #1 Notre Dame Prep. D-I final follows at 7:45 pitting No. 2 Xavier and #1 Desert Vista.

A thumbnail sketch of each pairing:

Millennium (38-6) vs. Notre Dame (31-9): Millennium reached the finals with progressively tougher matches. The Tigers beat Rincon 3-0, Sahuarp 3-1 and Flagstaff 3-2. Notre Dame swept its three prior playoff foes -- Sunrise Mountain, Deer Valley and Salpointe. Mllennium and Notre Dame played once during the season in the Westwood TOC Invite (a best-of-3). Notre Dame prevailed, 2-0. Millennium features no seniors on its roster and is led on the attack by hitters Jessica Vastine, junior Bailey Smith and Terayah Stukes. Vastine is averaging 19 kills a match in postseason and Smith and Stukes 15 and 10, respectively. Notre Dame is led by seniors Willow Johnson and Natalie Kish. Kish is a three-year starter and sets. Johnson, in her fourth year on varsity, plays opposite and is averaging 19 kills in the playoffs. Outside hitters Sophie Sydenham and Sierra Ellett chip in at 9 and 7, respectively.

Xavier (34-7) vs. Desert Vista (40-3): Xavier reached the finals sweeping Mountain Ridge and and Basha and rallying to defeat Gilbert, 3-2. Desert Vista swept Mountain Ridge and Basha and outlasted Sunnyslope, 3-2, in the semis for its 18th victory in a row. The teams once this season, two weeks ago with Desert Vista winning, 3-1. The match will be the swan song for Xavier senior all-around standout Khalia Lanier as well as teammates Callie Jones setter) and Kristen Largay (libero). Lanier is averaging 20 kills a match in postseason with 21 and 32 in the Gators last two matches. Junior middle Makenna Patterson is averaging 11 kills per match in postseason. Xavier has gradually worked Jones back in its lineup after she missed a huge chunk of the season with a dislocated finger. Jones had 40 assists in the thrilling semi with Gilbert. Desert Vista, seeking a repeat as division champ, is as balanced on attack as any team. In three postseason matches, similar to the way things played out during the regular season, four players are averaing nine to 11 kills per match -- hitters Hailey Harward, Hailey Dirrigl, opposite Olvia Fairchild and middle Rachael Kramer. Senior Sydney Mathison sets for Thunder and Kendall Glover is outstanding at libero.