Cibola top Yuma for region title

Cibola needed to win three matches in one day, and knock off the well-rested defending region champs in their own gym to extend its season another week.

To make matters worse, the Raiders hadn't won a five-set match all season.

Cibola overcame all that adversity Saturday.

Cibola middle blocker Marianna Curtis pounded down 20 kills, and after a fast start, the Raiders survived to win the 5A Gila Valley Region title with a 25-17, 25-7, 17-25, 19-25 and 15-6 victory over Yuma High at the Palace on Prison Hill.

Cibola earned an automatic 5A Division II playoff berth by winning the region. Yuma, which began the day ranked No. 11 in the state, should receive a playoff bid barring several region tournament upsets around the state.

"We had never won a fifth game, and we put it together today," Cibola coach Vivian Klee said. "We knew Yuma was going to make a run, but my players are scrappy. They keep coming at you. They could've folded up and died."

The Raiders marched through the first two games, closing out Game 1 on a 7-1 run, and then opening Game 2 with a 15-2 surge.

But Yuma overcame an 8-3 deficit in the third game, and took the lead for good on five unanswered points, which included kills by Magaly Gallegos and Christine Barry and a service ace fr xom Margie Smith.

Gallegos came alive to help Yuma force a fifth game. She served up four aces to go along with a pair of blocks and kills in the fourth game. Gallegos finished with seven aces and seven kills for the match.

But Curtis dominated early in Game 5, starting with five kills to push Cibola out to an 8-1 edge.

"She's been hitting with more determination than ever before," Klee said of Curtis.

Maya Van Iwaarden's back-to-back kills put the Raiders up 11-2.

Yuma earned a bye into the championship by finishing first in the region for the regular season. Yuma coach Manny Garcia said it took his team a couple games to get going.

"Having to sit and watch all morning long, all the way up to 2 p.m., it's bound to do that to you," Garcia said. "But we just did have it the last game. I thought if we hit the ball halfway decent and served the ball decent that would be enough to get us through, but it didn't happen."

Van Iwaarden contributed 12 kills, and Katy Davidson added nine. Barry had six kills for Yuma.