Lions secure school’s 1st title

Adam Candee

Thursday, May 20, 2004 | 9:07 a.m.

As last year's playoffs ended, Brandon Harris and his Sierra Vista teammates looked ahead and saw little standing between them and a boys' volleyball state championship in 2004.

"We kind of predicted it our junior year," Harris said.

They made that vision a reality Wednesday night, breezing past Cimarron-Memorial, 25-15, 25-20, 25-10, to win the 4A State Tournament at Coronado High School. The state title is the first in school history for fourth-year Sierra Vista.

The most fundamentally sound team in the playoffs, Sierra Vista complemented its physical skill with nearly flawless passing and consistently tough serving. The Spartans (SS-2) struggled in both areas Wednesday, giving the Lions (SS-1) way too many easy opportunities to have a serious shot.

Jordan Seager and Chad Waldron both recorded five aces, frustrating the Spartans with a mixture of topspin and floater jump serves. Harris led the team with 10 kills, while Seager contributed eight kills. Waldron, a setter, also tallied eight digs.

Sierra Vista never let Cimarron into the match except for a brief stretch in the second game. The Lions closed out the match by scoring 15 of the final 17 points, dominating as they did throughout a 24-1 season.

"There was no doubt at all," Harris said of the team's state hopes.

Sierra Vista coach Camille McComas realized early in the season that her team possessed as much skill as any other squad, with the state's best setter in Waldron and a trio of strong hitters in Harris, Seager and Garrett Callender.

That is why the coach took no chances and relentlessly drilled her squad in the passing and serving that control opportunities for points, especially in rally scoring.

"It's our serving and our passing," McComas said. "It's basics. If a coach overlooks that, they don't get it."

Sierra Vista's core group of seniors came up through the program and took its lumps, winning just three matches in 2002. They stuck together, though, gradually improving until they emerged as the favorite to win it all this year by midseason.

"This has been their dream for years," McComas said. "They've been talking about it little by little."

McComas said her team's work ethic, perhaps a product of surviving lean times, did not waver this season as the Lions learned how good they were.

"I'm impressed with the staying power and the commitment of the kids throughout the season," McComas said.