Harry Kaseff is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism graduate student assigned to cover Corona del Sol High School for AZPreps365.com

TEMPE – Xavier Prep clinched the 6A Central Region title at home Tuesday night by defeating Corona del Sol in straight sets, 25-22, 25-16, 25-18. The Gators withstood the Aztecs’ tenacity in each set to secure the victory.

On Oct. 16, the Gators swept the Aztecs.

“I thought we made some adjustments of things that we practiced,” Aztecs coach Ben Maxfield said.

The first set was tight all the way to the end with neither team ever leading by more than three points.

The Gators took their first timeout trailing 17-15. Xavier came out of the timeout and went on a four-point run to take the lead.

“Our serve and pass game is really strong,” Gator coach Lamar-Renee Bryant said. “We were able to get them out of system.”

Maxfield took a timeout and it was Corona’s turn for a run. The Aztecs scored three straight to retake the lead, 20-19.

That’s when Xavier junior outside hitter Tessa Larkin got a kill to tie it up at 20. The Aztecs were unable to convert on offense and the Gators took advantage.

Xavier scored three kills from three different players. Senior opposite Vivian Hickman, senior setter Selah O’Connor and sophomore middle blocker Amari Frazier each scored kills to give the Gators a 25-22 first-set victory.

“We were able to stay in system,” Bryant said. “Mattea, our libero, played great.”

In the second set, Corona junior setter Adelyn Chang found her groove from the service line and began the set with a six-point run. Bryant was forced to take an early timeout.

“We know that when we have energy, we have the momentum on our side,” Aztec senior libero Erin Clark said. “It intimidates the other team.”

Xavier responded with a 12-6 run that featured three kills from Larkin, two from Frazier and one from freshman outside hitter Sahmone Wadsworth. Just like that, the score was tied at 12.

After a quick kill from Corona senior middle blocker Hayden Conner, Gator senior libero Mattea Saunders went on a six-point run. Xavier scored on five kills and an ace from Saunders to extend their lead to 18-13.

“We terminated those 50-50 balls,” Bryant said.

The Aztecs committed three back-to-back errors before Annabelle Ross scored consecutively again to give the Gators the second set, 25-16.

“One thing that we talked about is that we need to be a lot better in chaos balls,” Maxfield said.

The third set started much like the first set and neither team could create separation.

Corona took a 14-13 lead before the Gators took over. Ross showed her presence at the net with two blocks before she scored a kill to give Xavier an 18-14 lead.

The Gators only earned two of their last six points thanks to four Aztec errors. Wadsworth scored a kill and Hickman scored an ace to secure the third set for Xavier, 25-18.

The match came down to which team could better control their first contact. Corona didn't have their best passing night which led to Conner being limited to just five kills.

Larkin and Ross registered 10 kills each, and as a team the Gators out-killed the Aztecs 37-22.

Corona was able to keep it close because of their defense, but Xavier still out-blocked Corona 7-6. Ross contributed on five blocks while Larkin and Frazier helped out on two blocks each. Clark, who is committed to the University of Alabama, tallied 16 digs for the Aztecs.

Corona del Sol (30-6) will play at Desert Vista (14-15) Thursday at 6 p.m. Xavier (30-2) will host Millennium (19-18) on Thursday at 6 p.m.