Aztecs volleyball advances to Region finals after dropping Glendale and Mesa

The Pima Community College volleyball team (15-13) will have the opportunity to play for the NJCAA Region I, Division II crown for the second straight year after the Aztecs won two elimination matches on Friday.

• The No. 3 seeded Aztecs advanced after beating No. 2 Glendale Community College in four sets (25-23, 13-25, 25-20, 25-19).
• The Aztecs will play No. 1 Scottsdale Community College for the Region I, Division II title but Pima must win twice on Saturday to win it.
• The Aztecs trailed by a slim margin for much of the first set against the Gauchos. Glendale took their biggest lead at 20-15. The Aztecs rallied by claiming six of the next seven points to tie it at 21-21. Glendale retook the lead at 23-21 but the Aztecs responded again with a kill from sophomore Jade Romine (Canyon del Oro HS) and a Gauchos' shot that went out. Coming out of a timeout, sophomore Kendall Deeter (Mountain View HS) blocked a shot for a point and sophomore Kaleigh Hockett (Desert Mountain HS) put down a kill to complete the comeback.
• The Aztecs lost control of the second set as Glendale tied the match at 1-1. Down 11-10 in the third set, the Aztecs scored the ensuing five points to take the lead at 15-11. Romine had kills for Pima's final two points to give them a 2-1 lead in the match.
• In the fourth set, the Aztecs surrendered six straight points and the Gauchos took a 17-12 lead. The Aztecs went on a tear scoring the next eight points to take a 20-17 advantage. Romine, sophomore Madi Nash (Sahuaro HS) and Deeter had kills down the stretch to hold off a Glendale comeback. A volley kept alive by the Aztecs went over the net and stayed inbounds to end the match.
• Romine led the way with a double-double of 15 kills and 20 digs. Hockett had a double-double of her own with 34 assists and 10 digs. Deeter finished with 10 kills and nine blocks while freshman Savanna White (Payson HS) posted 10 kills. Nash posted eight kills, 23 digs and five blocks. Freshman Aydalis Felix (Rincon HS) contributed with 20 digs while sophomore Grace Adams (Sabino HS) had 13 digs.

In their first match of the day, the Aztecs (14-13) defeated No. 4 Mesa Community College in straight sets 25-18, 25-19, 27-25.

• Sophomore Emily Robinson (Cienega HS), Deeter and Romine scored the final three points as the Aztecs claimed the first game. Deeter had two kills and one block to put the Aztecs up 2-0 in the match.
• The Aztecs led 23-21 in the third set but the Thunderbirds rallied off four straight points to put Pima behind 24-23. The Aztecs tied the set with the next point and held two advantage points until Romine put down the final kill to seal it.
• Romine produced a double-double of 11 kills and 16 digs. Deeter also finished with 11 kills to go along with six blocks. Robinson also finished in double figures with 10 kills and also had nine digs.
• Hockett had 31 assists while Felix had 22 digs. White contributed with seven kills and five blocks.

The Aztecs play Scottsdale Community College on Saturday at 4:00 p.m. If the Aztecs win, the two teams will face off again at 7:00 p.m. The Artichokes are undefeated in region tournament play whereas the Aztecs lost in the first day of competition to Glendale.