Canyon del Oro (Andy Morales/AZPreps365.com)

 

Canyon del Oro went 4-0 on Saturday to capture the championship of the Sahuaro Cougar Invitational. The Dorados beat Sahuaro 25-20, 25-23 in the final match.

Sahuaro (12-3) is led by senior standouts Abi Nash, Madi Nash and Shayla McCraney but it was the play of 6-foot-2 sophomore Kasey Purry that turned a few heads. The middle helped pace a furious comeback in the second set of the final thanks to a rapid series of blocks.

Canyon del Oro (8-3) took the first set 25-20 and then built what seemed to be a safe 20-11 lead in the second set but three kills and a block by Abi Nash and four blocks from Purry helped fuel a 12-2 run that saw the Cougars take a 23-22 lead.

The Cougars missed on the next opportunity, however, and junior Eve Pearson dropped in an ace to lead the Dorados to a 24-23 lead and then senior outside Zeleya Loop delivered the championship point on a kill off the block.

Loop finished with five kills in the deciding set and Pearson added four more. The Dorados made it to the 4A semifinal round last year but the team lost five seniors from that squad which contributed to some uneven play heading into this weekend.

“We are working hard, breaking in a new group,” Loop said. “We were missing some of the fight that it takes but I’m glad we showed some today. It lets us know we have the ability.”

The Dorados started the season out with four straight wins, including a win over Cienega, but then dropped a five-set match to Nogales followed by losses to Higley and Ironwood Ridge.

Abi Nash committed to play for Lamar University in July and the outside hitter finished with 12 kills in the final.