Boys' high school volleyball: Williams Field, Brophy Prep win championships
The top two teams faced off in the state high school boys volleyball championships in both the 5A and 6A conferences on Saturday. Here are recaps of those games, which were played at Skyline High School in Mesa:
5A: No. 1 Williams Field sweeps No. 2 Casteel
Gilbert Williams Field's top-ranked 5A team was not distracted by an early-round playoff controversy that almost removed them from the tournament. Instead, the Blackhawks showed why they were ranked No. 1 by sweeping No. 2 Casteel 3-0 on Saturday to win the 5A crown.
In the first round of the tournament, Williams Field was declared to lose by forfeit to No. 16 Sunrise Mountain by the Arizona Interscholastic Association. The AIA declared the team was ineligible because it had conducted an unsanctioned scrimmage during the season, which is a violation of the AIA bylaws. All players on Williams Field's roster were deemed ineligible, forcing the team to forfeit.
The decision caused an immediate response from parents upset about the ruling, who went to court. A judge issued an injunction that prevented the tournament from proceeding. The AIA reversed its decision to allow the tournament to continue, allowing Williams Field to march through the tournament and win it all.
"Our parents fought hard for us," senior Jaxton Payne said. "And we were praying to God and miracles happen, which is why I'm so grateful for the opportunity to play in this game and to be here. It's my coaches, all my parents, and especially my team, we all worked our butts off every day this season. And I couldn't have gotten here without them."
Casteel had no answer to Williams Field Saturday. Williams Field took the first set 25-19 before dominating the second set 25-12. With their backs to the wall, the Colts fought hard in the third set, garnering a lead early on before the Blackhawks clawed their way back and defeated Casteel 25-23 to win the title.
"Our model throughout the year has been finish strong and that's the idea," Williams Field head coach Brian Hiapo said. "Regardless of how you start, that's how you finish. Just kind of keeping them with level heading."
It was a team effort all throughout. Williams Field has numerous players who were among the best in 5A in multiple statistics; Payne led 5A in hitting percentage (.491), Luke Raymond led 5A in assists (1,026), and Travis Ebner and Tragdon Jenkins were among the top 10 in 5A in kills and digs.
"Just a lot of positives. Can't say more than that about the caliber of our guys," Hiapo said. "Just so much love, overwhelming amount of support from the community. Grateful for so much of their support throughout this time. It's more than just a team. At this point, it's like the whole community has come together, it's great."
6A: No. 2 Brophy Prep defeats No. 1 Sandra Day O'Connor
After three disappointing semifinal losses in the last three seasons, No. 2-seeded Brophy Prep boys' volleyball finally got over the hump, defeating No. 1 Sandra Day O'Connor 3-1 at Skyline High School on Saturday night and handing the Eagles their first loss of the season.
As soon as Brophy Prep's Connor Oldani recorded the final point for Brophy, the gymnasium erupted into a deafening chorus of cheers. On the sideline, Connor's father and Brophy Prep head coach, Tony Oldani, quickly embraced his assistant coaches with a tight hug. He was the happiest man on the court.
"I could not have scripted how this all would go down better than how it went down," Tony Oldani said. "To be playing my best friend, to be playing four guys on the team that I coached when they were in their fourteens and still coach three of them now. To have it be the last night that one of my sons was playing for us and to have him be the guy that gets the last moment ... everything about tonight was magical."
The Broncos finished 16-1 on the regular season, with their only loss coming to O'Connor in the regular season. Besides its regular season matches against Sandra Day O'Connor and Perry, the Broncos hadn't allowed a set all season; including the state tournament wins over Hamilton, Mountain View Mesa and Perry that propelled them into the state championship.
Brophy's Connor Oldani led 6A with 516 kills and a .522 hitting percentage, while Colin Zimmerman led the conference with 975 assists.
The Broncos jumped out to a 1-0 lead Saturday by edging O'Connor 25-22 before surrendering the second set 26-24 in what was shaping up as a tight match. Brophy took the next two sets 25-22 and 25-23, notching the state title.
"All night, we just preached like there's no pressure on us. So, when we started, I think it was the third set down 5-0, it was like, 'okay, let's take a deep breath, we just need to weather the storm.' And again, it was just everything we talked about. If we get punched, let's punch back. Let's not be afraid to punch back. We did that all night. Everything went exactly like it needed to go."
Many of Oldani's former players attended Saturday's championship match, he said.
"It's fantastic," Oldani said. "The number of alums from '99 that are here. There's '02 guys that are here. To have guys here from the 26 years of being a head coach is just awesome."
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Williams Field won the 5A title after an early round controversy; Brophy finally broke through for a title.
