Casa wins in volleyball opener

Casa Grande battled from behind to narrowly turn back Piner, 3-2, in a hard-fought volleyball tune-up in Santa Rosa on Tuesday night.

The Lady Gauchos trailed two sets to one in the late going, but they put together a solid 6-2 rally to grab the fourth set, 25-17, behind the play of senior Samantha Dedrickson to force a deciding fifth set. Dedrickson made three kills and a solid placement into the open floor for a winner as the Gauchos gradually pulled away in the biggest separation between the teams on the night.

The fifth set was no breeze for Casa, even though the Gauchos led at one point, 12-7, on some power clutch play at the net by freshman Awelina Fakalata. Her second consecutive kill appeared to give the Gauchos enough momentum to win.

Piner, however, did not go away quietly as the veteran Lady Prospector squad came back to knot the score at 13-13, which forced a defensive time out by Casa. After the short break in the action, Piner failed to take advantage of its serve, and Casa scored two quick points to close out the long match at 15-13.

First-year Casa Grande head coach Amber Taylor took full advantage of the pre-season game conditions to mix and match her entire 15-player roster throughout the contest. The competition lasted long enough to get an extended look at most of the Gaucho players.

The scrappy Piner squad was not as deep as the Gauchos and it made fewer lineup adjustments. The Prospectors had good player movement, and kept the ball in play on many rallies. Several returns were quick hits that forced the Gauchos to quickly react.

Taylor made wholesale substitutions in the second set after the Gauchos fell, 25-18, to open the match. Fakalata, Kiley Cramer and veteran setter Ani Hanakeawa all made a difference as Casa Grande led all the way to win the second set 25-19. Fakalata and Cramer had three blocks between them.

Hanakeawa, who sat out much of the season in 2016 with injuries, was in mid-season form with many good touch passes that led to Gaucho points. She rotated well on the floor and had a good awareness of the location of her teammates at the net.

Katerina Mahdavi also had some solid moments for the Lady Gauchos at the beginning of play that helped Casa climb back into the first set.

Most of the longer rallies of the night came in the late going after players on both teams became more comfortable with their rotations.

The Piner junior varsity team captured the final set to turn back Casa, 2-1.