|
Basha boys edge Mtn. Ridge for tourney title
Bears use Alvarez's late kill to win hard-fought match
The boys volleyball team is certainly putting the "bash" into Basha. The Bears won the Notre Dame Tournament on Saturday with a hard-fought, three-game battle, edging Mountain Ridge 25-18, 21-25, 15-13.
"Mountain Ridge is a great team," Basha coach Darrin Ashment said. "They're a great team defensively and they dug up everything we hit at them."
Neither team led by more than three points in the decisive third game. Basha held a 13-11 lead when senior outside hitter Anthony Alvarez made a statement with his kill that put Basha within a point of victory.
His 11th kill of the match came from the left side of the net and was a rocket right off the head of a Mountain Ridge defender. The ball ricocheted off his head and landed nearly 50 feet away in the stands, sending the Bears into a frenzy.
"I don't know how I did it," Alvarez said. "I was just getting crazy out there and having fun. This game was amazing."
Ashment knows he has a star with a powerful arm in Alvarez.
"Alvarez scares me when he hits at me. I move out of the way for him," Ashment said. "These guys are smart and control the ball where they want to hit it. He's a fun kid to watch."
The first game wasn't as head-rattling, as the two teams went back and forth in a tight affair until the Bears reeled off the final six points to post a 25-18 win.
That momentum carried into the second game, as Basha bolted out to a 7-3 lead and forced Mountain Ridge to call a timeout. The Mountain Lions scored eight of the next 12 points to rally and tie the score at 11-11.
Serving problems gave Basha three free points but they were unable to capitalize on the Mountain Lions' miscues and fell 25-21 in the middle game.
Basha, ranked sixth in power points, sports an impressive 16-2 record and a team that could make a lot of noise at state.
"I think we're going to be in good shape because we played well this whole tournament and we look to come out at state the same way," Alvarez said. "We've been hanging out a lot together and coming together as a team."
In the third-place game, Mesa defeated Sunrise Mountain 21-25, 25-20, 15-10
