Sweet 16th in a row for Springville volleyball

SPRINGVILLE — At this point in their careers, nothing should faze the Springville Orioles. They've seen and faced just about everything.

'We've been in high-pressure spots a lot,' setter Madi Wagaman said. 'We know how to control ourselves and not get too stressed out.'

So when they faced a 7-0 deficit in the first set and a 7-1 hole in the second, it was no big deal.

'It's exactly what we needed,' Springville Coach Claude Howard said. 'We needed to be tested, because we haven't been for a long time. We needed a team to bring it to us.'

Ultimately, the second-ranked Orioles brought it right back and swept Bellevue Marquette (25-17, 25-19, 25-12) in a Class 1A volleyball regional semifinal Thursday night at Machovec Gymnasium.

Springville (37-2) won its 16th consecutive match and will face No. 14 HLV (16-7) in a regional final at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Williamsburg. The winner advances to the state tournament Nov. 7-10 at the U.S. Cellular Center.

The Orioles made it the last two seasons, including a push to the semifinals last year. Throw in three straight appearances in the 1A state basketball finals (including two titles), and the core group have seen moments much more high-tension than this.

Both times they fell behind, the recovered immediately.

'With our mindset, we knew we had to get up and not give up on anything,' Sami Johnson said.

Trailing 18-17 in the second set, Springville scored six straight points to gain control.

The Orioles possess offensive weapons aplenty — 'Every night, it's somebody different,' Johnson said — and Mikayla Nachazel led the way with 13 kills. Johnson and Rylee Menster added 11 apiece.

'It gives me so many options,' said Wagaman, who distributed 30 assists.

Rylee Chapman served 12 straight points (including four aces) to start the third set, and the lead never wavered below double digits.

Sunny North paced Marquette (18-13) with eight kills.

SPRINGVILLE 3, BELLEVUE MARQUETTE 0 (25-17, 25-19, 25-12)

Class 1A Regional Semifinal, at Springville

Serving — Marquette 47-50 (.940), Springville 71-74 (.959)

Aces — Marquette 3 (three with 1), Springville 9 (Rylee Chapman 4)

Kills — Marquette 21 (Sunny North 8), Springville 40 (Mikayla Nachazel 13)

Assists — Marquette 19 (McKenna Hingtgen 13), Springville 39 (Madi Wagaman 30)

Blocks — Marquette 5 (Teona Richman 4), Springville 9 (Alyssa Jaeger, Nachazel 3)

l Comments: (319) 368-8857; jeff.linder@thegazette.com