Las Vegas 3 Silverado 2 NIAA PLAYOFFS

Las Vegas 3 Silverado 2 (26-24, 25-17, 27-29, 21-25, 24-22)

WOW! I still haven’t caught my breath yet from this barn burner and I was sitting still the entire match.  What a great match!!  This was the matchup that most intrigued me from the beginning.  Could Silverado’s steady ball control and serving slow down the high flying attack from Las Vegas? Game 1 was just a hint of what was going to happen later.  Both teams played fairly well with leads going back and forth but neither team able to extend.  As a former coach it was great to see two teams compete so hard and have most of the points being finished with kills and blocks rather than errors.  Set 2 was well played on both sides again with but the 1-2 punch of Trevor Hardy and Braeden Wilson proved to be too much for Silverado in the end.  When Wilson and Hardy are really on their games this team is very hard to deal with and they go through stretches when you wonder if they can be slowed up.  In game 3 Silverado stepped up and made Hardy and Wilson look human again.  The Skyhawks played poised throughout the set behind the great play of MB Tyree Burton, OH Brian Theophil, and L Rusty Santiago.  It goes without saying that S Casey Hadland was dishing nectar like he had a corner on the market.  Toward the end of the game the Seahawks looked like they would force a game 4 as they had built a 23-20, but Las Vegas scored the next three points to tie the score.  This was only the beginning of the thrill as we had tie scores at every stage till 27 when Silverado was finally able to score back to back points and force the match to the 4^th set.  I was very impressed with MB Chris Gbelay who seemed to play better and better for the Wildcats as the match got tighter and tighter.  Set 4 was competitive but Silverado seemed to have control most of the way.  Both teams played well but the ball control and defense that defines the Seahawks and it was what forced the pivotal game 5.  I need to let the participants know that most of the time we only go to 15 points in game 5, but the gritty performers wanted to try for another 25 point set.  What a game! Las Vegas reassumed control of the momentum early grabbing an early 7-3 advantage with the highlight of the early going on a monster kill from Braeden Wilson on a 2 set.  Silverado fought back in their methodical style and ultimately tied the score at 13.  From here we watched back and forth exhilarating play from both teams as we had ties scores all the way up to 22 all.  Finally, the Wildcats scored consecutive points to bring the mad cap match to a conclusion at 24-22.  My hat goes off to all performers here.  That was a great match and thanks to the fans that revved up the intensity of the moment, I am just glad I was there to see it.