Diamondbacks take MRL title

PHELAN • Before a boisterous crowd of over 300 at the Snake Pit, the Serrano girls volleyball team snapped Sultana’s seven match winning streak and grabbed the Mojave River League title Thursday night.

The evenly matched teams alternated set wins until the Diamondbacks (17-8-1, 7-1 MRL) came out with a 25-22, 28-30, 25-20, 23-25 16-14 victory.

Both teams entered the action with 6-1 MRL records and the Sultans (14-6, 6-2 MRL) won the first league meeting at home 3-2 October 21. Sultana’s only blemish had been a 3-2 loss at Rim of the World in early October.

“The match tonight was pretty hard fought,” Sultana coach Ray Banaag said. “Judging from the first time we played them I knew it was going to be a battle. Hat’s off to Serrano. They really stepped up and got points when then needed them. But I think both teams played super hard, as you can see by the scores. It was a lucky ball here, a lucky call there and definitely could have gone either way. All the respect to Serrano for stepping up and winning when they needed it. It’s one of those games you hate to see somebody lose.”

The Sultans led 22-8 in the first set before Serrano came roaring back with 17 consecutive points. Taeler Davis served the last seven points and Delainey Aigner-Swesey closed out the set with one of her 24 kills.

The second set was a back-and-forth battle with eight ties and nine lead changes. At 28-28, Sultana gained a side out and Terran Poindexter served the final point to tie up the match.

After the teams split the next two sets, it all came down to the fifth set.

There were 15 side outs in the game and the most critical was when Serrano tied the game at 14. Stephanie Espey was on serve for the Diamondbacks for the last two points. The game winner came on a block by Madison Ekis.

“Both teams had their ups and their downs.” Serrano coach Tracy Talbott said. “I think that we definitely arose at the fifth game and finished it strong. We won the MRL, yes we did.”

Serrano’s Aigner-Swesey had 20 digs and nine blocks. Davis had 46 assists, Chelsey Sanderson had 11 kills and 10 blocks, Jordan Kershaw had 34 digs and Espey added 18 digs.

Sultana’s Poindexter had 24 kills and three blocks. Erica Walters had 21 kills and four blocks, and Stephanie Prescott added five kills and six blocks.