Brackets fall in line for boys’ volleyball

Jeff Neubert

Thursday, May 12, 2005 | 9:30 a.m.

Being a favorite has worked out pretty well for boys' high school volleyball teams. The favorites lost just one game in the Sunrise and Sunset regional quarterfinals this week, making for some pretty good matches in today's semifinals.

Las Vegas High, the No. 1 team in the Northeast Division, went 17-1 one season after finishing three games under .500 at 9-12.

Vegas will face the No. 2 seed in the Southeast Division, tournament host Coronado, at 2:30 p.m. today.

Silverado (13-5), without a single returning starter, has put together a strong run.

"We are going to have to stick to what we can do," Skyhawks coach Eric Drum said. "It is not about what the other teams do."

First-year coach Ray Nichols at Chaparral expected his team to be in the top four, but Silverado stands in the way of that goal at 6 p.m. today.

The winners of the two semifinal games will play for the Sunrise Region championship at 5 p.m. Friday at Coronado High School.

On the other side of the city, Centennial, third in the Northwest Division, became the first and only team to upset a higher seed in the quarterfinals, beating No. 2 seed Durango in the Southwest Division.

But it doesn't get any easier against Palo Verde, one of two undefeated teams in the Sunset Region this year. They will play at 4:15 p.m. today.

Shadow Ridge won its quarterfinal game and plays Bonanza (12-0) in the semifinals. Shadow Ridge finished the season in second place in the Northwest Division.

"We look at it one game at a time," Bonanza coach Bob Bertolani said about playing the Mustangs in the semifinals. "We are going to have to limit our errors."

Bonanza will face off against Shadow Ridge in the semifinals today at 7:30 p.m.

The Sunset Regional Championship game will be held on Friday at 7 p.m. at Coronado High School.