Sailors upend tournament top seed 21-25, 25-15, 25-12 to grab program's second championship at prestigious event.
The Sailors and Trailblazers meet Sept. 29 and Oct. 7 in league play. There is potential for a Southern Section Open Division meeting and a possible Southern California regional match.
But Saturday, Marymount used hot hitting and serving from tournament MVP
Samantha Destler to earn its second Durango title 21-25, 25-15, 25-12. Outside hitter
Makenna Barnes and middle
Elle Vandeweghe also came up big for the Sailors.
"They really came to play today," Marymount coach Cari Klein said. "The first warm-ups (of the day) we had so much energy
and I was like 'woah.' I think they brought the energy and everyone
started feeding off it."
Makenna Barnes celebrates a point during Marymount's win over Sierra Canyon on Saturday at the Durango Fall Classic. The third-ranked Sailors upended No. 2 Sierra Canyon 21-25, 25-15, 25-12 for the program's second Durango title. (PHOTO: Jennie Webber)
The Sailors opened the day with a 25-19, 18-25, 25-17 qualifying win over No. 22
'Iolani (Honolulu, Hawaii) and then won bracket matches over No. 7
Redondo Union (Redondo Beach, Calif.) (25-21, 25-19) and No. 4
Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) (21-25, 25-19, 25-18) to reach the final.
Marymount bookended its Las Vegas weekend with a 3-0 loss Thursday to No. 14
Harrisburg (S.D.) before flipping the switch and running off seven wins for the title.
"We could have gotten them in a much tougher situation today, right?" Sierra Canyon coach Stephanie Wigfall said of Marymount. "But their block was phenomenal tonight and we didn't do a good job of getting around and through their block. They
wanted it more than we did in those moments. And that's not something
I'm happy about as a coach, but that's also not saying my team didn't
want it.
"They just outworked us in pivotal moments and were more
disciplined than us. They're hard to stop and if you're not perfect and
your offense is not firing at that moment, they will steamroll you."
That was evident after Sierra Canyon took the first set 25-21 and led early in the second set before a Barnes ace grabbed the lead at 9-7. Marymount would outscore the Trailblazers 14-8 the rest of the way in the second before blazing to leads of 7-2 and then 13-5. By then, and with Sierra Canyon out of timeouts, the Sailors traded points on their way to the title.
No. 3 Marymount celebrates with the Durango Fall Classic trophy after winning the title in the 30th annual event. (PHOTO: Jennie Webber)
