Gilbert wraps up 5A San Tan title topping Casteel
October 28, 2019 by Les Willsey, AZPreps365

#9 Gilbert and #13 Casteel weren't in the 5A San Region title chase last year. They moved up the ladder some and played Monday night with Gilbert having the chance to win the region outright or Casteel the opportunity to even the race with a match each to play on Tuesday.

The Tuesday matches won't have the meaning they might have as Gilbert put the region-title question to bed with a 25-15, 25-21, 25-12 victory over Casteel at The Jungle.

"Region titles for us used to be common, but not so lately," Gilbert coach Joe Hesse said. "I want these girls to know it's a big deal, and they've accomplished something."

Casteel (17-13 overall, 7-2 region, 9-7 power-ranking matches) entered the contest having won seven region matches in a row since it lost its region opener to Gilbert back in late September. The Colts were out for revenge from a sweep in the September meeting, but ultimately they were out muscled by the host Tigers.

"We are a more physical team than they are and it worked in our favor," Hesse said. "We handled them the first set. The second set they gave us a battle."

Gilbert (32-10, 9-0, 13-3) raced to a 9-1 lead and was punishing Casteel at 20-5 late. Casteel closed the set with a 10-5 run and better play ensued through most of the second set - just not long enough.

Casteel led the second set more than halfway through with several leads of four points. Gilbert caught up and led for the first time 15-14. A 6-0 run with Macie Beaudoin doing the serving, including a pair of aces, putting the Tigers back in charge.

Casteel sophomore outside/opposite Carlee Wakefield helped the Colts close within 22-21. Casteel misfired on two successive attacks and Gilbert closed out the set with a kill by Elizabeth Toiaivao.

The final set was much like the first. Gilbert grabbed a 10-3 lead and never was threatened. Sophomore outside Naia Stewart's 14th kill was good for match point.

Stewart's 14 kills led Gilbert and Toiaivao was next with nine. Freshman libero Kenzie Schoenhardt paced the Tigers in digs with 15 and junior setter Lyndsee Baxter registered 29 assists. Wakefield and senior Taylor Tepe paced Casteel unofficially with six kills apiece.

Gilbert and Casteel dominated in the San Tan Region. Each has played a smattering of top-10 ranked teams out of region. Neither has a win to show for it in a power-ranking match. Gilbert has played top-10 squads Cactus Shadows, Centennial and Sunnyslope and Casteel has faced Millennium, Sunnyslope, Centennial, Verrado, Notre Dame Prep and Gilbert with no breakthroughs

Both teams appear headed to compete in play-in round games on Thursday when postseason begins. Gilbert is chasing No. 8 Verrado for a bye to the state tournament.

Photo gallery from Casteel match available at AZDEW

Gilbert prevails over Campo Verde in region showdown
October 16, 2019 by Les Willsey, AZPreps365

The first of back-to-back matches for Gilbert's girls volleyball team with 5A San Tan Region rival Campo Verde couldn't have turned out better for the Tigers.

After a so-so performance - albeit a sweep of Williams Field on Tuesday night - No. 11 Gilbert took its game to a level more to the liking of coach Joe Hesse as the Tigers swept defending region champ and No. 8 Campo Verde out of the The Jungle. Scores were 25-20, 25-11 and 25-16. The loss snapped a 19-game region winning streak by Campo Verde dating back to 2017.

Gilbert (28-10 overall and 6-0 region) maintained and added to its lead in the region with the victory. Campo Verde (12-22, 4-1) fell into a tie for second in the region with Higley, who the Coyotes host on Thursday. Then Campo hosts Gilbert in the Tigers' next match Tuesday Oct. 22 with first place or possibly a share of it up for grabs.

"We won Tuesday, but we didn't play that well,' Hesse said. "Tonight was a different story. We had a plan to focus on their middle (Addison Haluska), and I think we did a good job there. We were in system pretty well the whole match."

Other than a 4-0 deficit in the opening set, Gilbert was in control. The Tigers served five aces that helped pave their rally from the slow start in the first set. It was smooth sailing from there.

Gilbert had plenty of offense and it came from a variety of sources. Sophomore outside hitter Naia Stewart led with 17 kills and junior outside Madison Cadden and senior middle Elizabeth Toiaivao were complementary with nine kills apiece. Junior setter Lyndsee Baxter contributed 36 assists and freshman libero Kenzie Schoenhardt collected a team-high 12 digs. Gilbert served 11 aces - four from Schoenhardt and three from Brooke Hesse.

Campo Verde, which reached the 5A semifinals last year before bowing out to eventual state champ Millennium, has a much younger squad on the floor. Coach Tayler Bader has taken a patient approach and used tournaments to get much needed experience. The Coyotes residence in the top-10 of the 5A power rankings shows they've won the bulk of matches that matter (7-4 power-ranking record). Forget they are 10 games under .500 overall.

"We're giving a great effort and sometimes the result isn't there," Bader said. "They had a great plan and outplayed us. We'll try to tweak some things and play better next week when we meet again."

Haluska finished with five kills unofficially for Campo Verde, with the the bulk of its attack falling to Taylor Van Winkle, Gillian Bachali and Brooke Boyko. The latter two are freshmen and Haluska a sophomore illustrating the youth of the Coyotes in 2019.

Gilbert records 2nd region sweep, tops Williams Field
September 25, 2019 by Les Willsey, AZPreps365

Gilbert High's girls volleyball team may be getting its growl back.

After a couple of off seasons dropping from 6A and adjusting to new foes in 5A, the Tigers are indicating they intend to compete for the region title and perhaps a bit more in 2019.

Gilbert was just under .500 last year in dropping from 6A to 5A and struggled in 2017 to a 6-29 mark in 6A.

For the second night in a row, Gilbert polished off a 5A San Tan Region opponent in three sets, easily topping Williams Field, 25-13, 25-5 and 25-16 on Wednesday at The Jungle.

Gilbert is tied for first with defending region champ Campo Verde at 2-0. the teams don't face one another in region matches until mid-October.

"We've had a couple down years," longtime Gilbert coach Joe Hesse said. "So far this year we've beaten the teams we need to beat and lost to teams we should have. We've played a lot of matches. We played in three tournaments three weekends in a row.

"We're not having our tournament this year so we went to Payson last week. The girls had some fun. We played 11 matches (won them all) mostly against smaller (conference) teams."

In its first home region match after topping Casteel on the road Tuesday, Gilbert (24--10 overall, 5-3 power ranking matches and 2-0 region) had little trouble disposing of Williams Field. Gilbert was methodical in winning with plenty of solid play mixed in with the Black Hawks struggles, particularly in the second set.

Gilbert's leader is sophomore outside Naia Stewart. Stewart contributed 8 kills, three blocks, four aces and served 12 consecutive points (three of her aces) that took Gilbert from a 8-1 lead to 20-1 in the second set.

"Naia had a good season for us last year," Hesse said. "She's a rising star. This is her team. She knows it and she accepts it. We played well tonight. Made some mistakes. Most were good mistakes."

Equaling Stewart in kills unofficially was junior teammate Madison Cadden (eight). Senior middle Elizabeth Toiaivao added seven kills and junior middle Macie Beuadoin chipped in five kills.

Williams Field dropped to 4-4 in power ranking matches and 1-1 in region. The Black Hawks swept Maricopa in its first region match on Tuesday. Williams Field's uofficial leader on the attack was junior hitter Makayla Simmons with seven.

Photo gallery from Williams Field match available at AZDEW


Gilbert vs. Williams Field - September 25, 2019

Thanks to Dennis Webb Photography for the thumbnail photos
Full size, high resolution photos available at www.azdewphoto.com

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