Prep volleyball: Durango records South’s lone win

Zack Hall

Friday, Nov. 10, 2000 | 10:29 a.m.

RENO -- It was a tough night for Southern Nevada's girls volleyball teams in round one of the 4A State Tournament, with four of five area squads falling Thursday night at Galena High School.

Durango, the only winner from the Las Vegas area, advanced at the expense of another southern squad, with the Trailblazers defeating Silverado 5-15, 15-5, 19-17, 12-15, 15-9.

Northern schools swept the other three matches, with Galena downing Green Valley 15-11, 9-15, 15-8, 15-13, Douglas ousting Centennial 15-8, 15-10, 15-10 and defending state champion Churchill County making short work of Valley 15-4, 15-6, 15-6.

Green Valley, the top seed from the Sunrise region with a 22-1 record coming into the event, came the closest to toppling a northern foe, taking one game and pushing two others to the limit.

But the Gators ultimately fell victim to Galena's Kellie Burton, a University of Arizona signee and of one Reno's top volleyball players. Burton finished with 30 kills, dominating action to the delight of the Grizzlies' home fans.

"Number nine (Burton) was just on fire tonight," Green Valley coach Erin Hill said. "We did (do some things different). We doubled and tripled up on the net and we did stop her a couple of times."

Late in the final game, Green Valley scored with two straight points -- one of which came on a block of Burton by middle blocker Katie Swart -- to take an 11-7 lead. But the Grizzlies fought back with seven consecutive points, giving them match point.

Facing elimination, the Gators answered with two straight aces by Swart, but moments later Joanna Hixon was set by Lauren Wallace and drove the ball to the ground for the winner.

Green Valley, which also fell to the Grizzlies in a tournament this season, got 14 kills from Jennifer Todd in the losing cause.

In today's semifinals, Durango (20-1) will face Churchill County at 4 p.m., following the Galena-Douglas match. Churchill County has yet to lose a match this year, and lost its only game of the season in last week's Northern Region Tournament.