Corona displays smiles and title trophy from Westwood TOC on Saturday. (photo courtesy Corona del Sol)

 

For Corona del  Sol volleyball, the beat goes on.

The Aztecs repeated as Westwood Tournament of Champions victors Saturday night, sweeping Basha for the Gold Division title, 25-20, 25-12 at Westwood High School.

In the process Corona extended its winning streak to 31 consecutive victories dating back to last October. Coach Ben Maxfield's Aztecs were 9-0 in the tournament and did not drop a set..

Corona (18-0) survived a grueling semifinal match with Hamilton, outlasting the Huskies, 32-30, 28-26. The teams met earlier in a power-ranking match that saw Corona rally a 2-0 deficit to a 3-2 win. Other than those two matches, Corona has had little to fear in having its winning streak halted.

Corona placed three players on the all-tournament team -- senior Brooke Nuneviller, senior Abby Meyer and sophomore Madelyn Noble. Nuneviller contributed seven kills and 15 digs in the title match. Meyer had 19 assists and Noble five kills. Emma West chipped in six kills and Allysa Wissinger had four kills.

Basha delivered an outstanding effort in reaching the final. The Bears posted an 8-2 mark in the tournament losing only to Sunnyslope (a semifinalist) and Corona. Basha defeated Mountain Ridge, Mesa and Perry in the semis to qualify for its 10th match of the tournament. The victory over Perry reversed a 3-0 sweep to the Pumas just two days ago.

"I think we were worn out by the last match," Basha coach Terri Spann said. "This was the first championship match for our girls. Corona is so tough. By the second set, especially how it started, we were pretty much done."

Basha played OK in the first set, something it had trouble doing at all 10 days ago in a power-ranking loss to Corona in three sets. Any notion Basha had of  giving Corona a go in the second set vanished quickly. That was courtesy of Aztecs' sophomore middle Sadie McRae, who keyed a 6-0 start with two kills and two blocks. 

Basha also placed three players on the all-tourney team -- senior libero Kianna Gonsalves, senior right side Tatum Rohme and junior outside hitter Chayse Daughtery. Rohme led Basha in the final with seven kills and Daughtery added five.

Rounding out the all-tournament team were players from Sunnyslope and Perry. Sunnyslope's honorees were senior hitter Kayla Matthews and junior setter Macy Wilke. Perry's recognition went to senior hitters Ryan Davis and Alexis Keith.