C-M, Sierra Vista to clash for 4A state championship

Adam Candee

Wednesday, May 19, 2004 | 9:08 a.m.

Sara Melvin would like for Cimarron-Memorial to be known as more than just the other team in tonight's 4A state boys' volleyball title game against Sierra Vista.

Talking after the Spartans' four-game semifinal victory against Chaparral on Tuesday, Melvin, the Cimarron coach, bemoaned newspaper reports touting the Lions as the prohibitive favorite. She said that her team used its perceived lack of respect as motivation to defeat the Cowboys (SR-1), 25-20, 27-25, 28-30, 25-18 at Coronado High School.

"Honestly, we haven't been given the credit we deserve and I think it helped us," Melvin said "To tell you the truth, we used it.

"Nobody thinks that we can do it and we're coming out and showing them. And if that's what it takes, then that's what it takes."

Sierra Vista (SS-1) advanced to tonight's championship by defeating Coronado (SR-2), 27-25, 25-15, 25-15. The Lions beat the Spartans (SS-2) in last week's Sunset Region championship in three games.

Even though the Spartans defeated Coronado during the regular season, Melvin does not really care who her team faces tonight.

"It doesn't matter who we play," Melvin said. "Some other teams have focused too much on who they're playing and focused too much on who they are going to play. We just take it one game at a time and I think that's what helped us."

The Spartans used an excellent block to frustrate Chaparral. With good height in all of its rotations, Cimarron consistently put up two blockers against the Cowboys' attack.

"We practiced on that like crazy in practice (Monday)," Melvin said. "I know that's what we needed (Tuesday) and we got the job done. Derek (Jolley) and Roberto (Bautista) stepped up and they got it every time."

Cimarron used a balanced attack to keep the Cowboys off balance. Jolley and Bautista both finished with 16 kills, and Steven Tew totaled 15 kills. Scott Oswald gave out 41 assists, and he and Jolley both had three blocks.

"Every single front line that we have, in my opinion, is strong," Melvin said. "I feel comfortable with every single front line."