By Ryan Wright

The Sahuaro Cougars (15-6, 5-1) made the four-mile trip through Tucson’s east side to take on the Palo Verde Titans (4-14, 0-7) Tuesday and extended their winning streak to three after defeating the Titans 25-16, 25-16, 25-15.

With the win, the Cougars maintained their third place position in the section standings, sitting one game back in the loss column to the Rincon Rangers (17-10, 6-0) and Cienega Bobcats (22-10, 5-0).

Sahuaro senior Cameron Detwiler and junior Brendan Gary supplied most of the offense for the Cougars, accounting for eight kills each.

Errors by the Cougars allowed the Titans to hang around early in the first and third sets, but as the Sahuaro front line became more accurate with their attacks and more active on defense, the gap widened, resulting in nine and ten-point victories, respectively.

Palo Verde seniors Kevin Sadlier, Zion Mejias and Santiago Reyes played their final home matches for the Titans. Sadlier finished with six kills, five digs and an ace, while Mejias and Reyes remained active along the front line throughout the match.

Reyes said the long bus rides with his teammates is what he will miss most about being a member of the Palo Verde volleyball team.

Sadlier, who plans on attending Pima Community College in the fall, said the best thing about his time on the volleyball team was, “Joining the team as a freshman not knowing much about the game and learning how to play over my four years.”

Sahuaro will finish the season with a three-match home stand beginning against the Pueblo Warriors on Thursday, followed by the Tucson High Badgers on Friday and closing with a matchup against the section leading Rincon Rangers on May 3.

Palo Verde will travel to face the Desert Christian Eagles on Thursday and close out their season on the road against the Sunnyside Blue Devils on May 3.

Ryan Wright is a sports journalism student at Arizona State.