Catalina Foothills wins the Lancer Invitational

April 13, 2024 by Andy Morales, AZPreps365


Catalina Foothills. (Andy Morales/AZPreps365)

Catalina Foothills went 6-0 to capture the championship of the Lancer Boys Volleyball Invitational held Friday and Saturday at Salpointe. The Falcons beat Cienega 2-0 in the championship final on Saturday.

Cienega took a 14-9 lead in the first set but the Falcons battled back to tie the set up at 18-18 before closing on a 7-3 run to take the set 25-21. The teams battled early in the second set until Catalina Foothills built a 16-11 lead only to see the Bobcats take a 17-16 lead. The Falcons responded with another run to take the second set 25-19.

Kyle Senkerik collected 24 assists for the Falcons with Jacob Martinez (13) and Dylan Rubio (7) combining for 20 kills. Caiden Mott also had 24 assists with Jackson Brown (11) and Dawson Briggs (9) combining for 20 kills.

Cienega is 13-0 in ranking matches and the Bobcats are ranked No. 2 in the 5A Conference. The Bobcats also lead the 5A Southern Region thanks to a 3-2 victory over No. 6 Catalina Foothills (12-1) in March. Cienega will host Catalina Foothills on Tuesday in another game that counts.

No. 17 Ironwood Ridge (9-4) is also in the hunt for the region title but the Nighthawks, along with No. 20 Buena (8-6) and No. 23 Mountain View (5-9) are possibly looking at a spot in the 5A Play-In Tournament slated for April 30. Cienega and Catalina Foothills are playing for a spot in the state tournament that starts on May 3.

Kyle Senkerik. (Andy Morales/AZPreps365)

Caiden Mott. (Andy Morales/AZPreps365)