Cibola tops Yuma, claims region crown

Yuma High's Magaly Gallegos may have only sat five feet from the volleyball court, but her presence was missed by her teammates who lost the regular season finale to Cibola 25-18, 25-22, 21-25, 25-22.

The win clinched the Gila Valley Region regular season title for the Raiders (12-5 overall, 8-2 GVR), who owned a tiebreaker against the Criminals (11-6 overall, 8-2 GVR), and gave Cibola home court advantage for Saturday's Gila Valley Region Tournament.

Gallegos is not expected to play in the region tournament for Yuma High, which has already clinched a spot in the state playoffs.

"We were letting a lot of hits through with (Magaly's) absence," Yuma High setter Danielle Pelroy said. "You just can’t replace Magaly."

The Raiders dominated Game 4 with an early 7-1 run in which Eliza Moody tallied three aces. The Criminals were never able to catch up, trailing by at least two points through the entirety of the game. Though a kill by Isabel Villalobos brought Yuma High within one, a serving error on the next play gave the Raiders match point.

"We came out with a winning attitude," Cibola outside hitter Katie Davidson said. "Our passes were to our setters and everyone just connected. Everyone finished the play."

The match was a stark turnaround for the Raiders, who were swept by San Luis on Tuesday. That loss was only the second time Cibola had been swept all season

"We were trying to fine tune some of these bad habits that we’ve gotten into over the season," Cibola coach Vivian Klee said. "The team worked well on things in practice and got through it."

The Raiders opened up the match like it had closed, using a 7-1 run in Game 1 to build an early lead. Davidson recorded two kills during that run, which consistently landed on the far corner of the Criminals' side of the court.

"They were leaving the corners open, because they were crowding the middle," Davidson said. "We took advantage of that and when they spread it out we took advantage of the middle."

Errors were another area that Cibola took advantage of. In the first game the Criminals tallied eight errors, including four service errors.

Game 2 was much of the same for Cibola, which led by as many as seven after a kill by Moody gave the Raiders a 22-15 advantage. Victoria Barry then tallied back-to-back aces to bring the Criminals within two, but two consecutive errors gave Cibola the Game 2 win. Barry  finished the match with 10 kills.

The Criminals took the early lead in Game 3 after a string of seven-straight points. Yuma High had its largest lead after another run of five put the Criminals on top 22-13.

But Davidson led a seven-point Cibola rally, in which she tallied two kills, to bring the Raiders within two points. The Raiders fell short after a hitting error and an ace by Villalobos gave the Criminals game-point. Villalobos finished the match with six kills.

"A lack of communication was an issue," Klee said, regarding her team's Game 3 loss. "They tensed up and they started playing desperate."

The issue on the Criminals' side of the court was less about communication and more about confidence, especially with junior Mikaela Vega filling in for Gallegos.

"We’ve got a lot of underclassmen," Pelroy said. "So when people make a mistake they have a hard time just putting it behind them."

The region tournament will be played at Cibola with the winner earning an automatic berth into the playoffs. The first round - which features No. 2 Yuma High against No. 5 Kofa and No. 3 San Luis against No. 4 Lake Havasu - begins at 9 a.m. The championship match, which will feature the Raiders against one of the other four remaining teams, is expected to begin at 2 p.m.