Canyon del Oro improved to 14-0 on the year after defeating Salpointe 3-2 Monday night in a battle between two of the top three teams in the 4A Conference. Salpointe (9-1) came in ranked No. 2 and the Dorados were No. 3. The AIA rankings are released Tuesday through Friday at 10 a.m. so there might be a slight change at the top with No. 1 Notre Dame (9-0) not competing until Tuesday night.

Salpointe beat Notre Dame in five sets to win the 4A state championship last year. It was the third state title since 2016 for the Lancers and the Dorados last appeared in a state championship final in 1980.

Canyon del Oro only has four more regular season matches scheduled until the state playoffs begin on Nov. 4 but one of those will be a rematch with the Lancers at home on Oct. 20. Salpointe, on the other hand, has eight matches left including the match at Canyon del Oro but the Lancers will also face Notre Dame at home on Oct. 25 and No. 8 Mica Mountain (6-0) on Oct. 27 at home to end the regular season. The top four seeds in the state tournament could be decided that week.

The Dorados took the first set over Salpointe 26-24 after falling behind 22-20 and the set turned out to be the one that could have tipped the match either way. Salpointe middle blocker Meena Moore collected nine blocks in the match but it was the four she put together in the final moments of the second set that helped tie the match up 1-1. Dorado junior Alina Nunez ended the night with a game-high 21 kills but the match could have ended much earlier if not for the play of Moore at the net.

“Blocking is something I've definitely been working on in practice a lot. I think everyone on the team has improved with our blocking,” Moore said. “I think just working together more is what we need. Not that we didn't work together, it's just that we just need to figure out how to find ways to score when it gets tough. My goal this year is just to be the best senior for my team and lead by example and leave an impression on them for the next year.”

The Lancers struggled to put Canyon del Oro away in the third set after building a 16-9 lead only to have the Dorados storm back to make it 16-5 and then a 24-18 lead almost gave way to another comeback but the Lancers held on for the 25-22 victory to go up 2-1.

Canyon del Oro tied the match up in the fourth set with Nunez putting down four kills down the stretch for a 25-16 win. The Dorados went with two setters Monday night with Madisson Navarrete collecting 29 assists and Kaytlyn Hawkins adding 17 but the combination of Navarrete to Nunez, Kendal Snyder, Anissa El-Ali and Abby Whatton proved to be the key early in the fifth set with the Dorados sprinting out to a 7-3 lead.

Sophia Hernandez took control from there for the Lancers and she made good on five of her 48 assists to tie the fifth set up 10-10 but Whatton scored on three of her 16 kills the rest of the way and the Dorados took the deciding set 15-11.

Nunez recorded 278 kills for Valley Vista as a freshman in 2019 but she transferred to Canyon del Oro the following year where she put together 55 kills after sitting out from the transfer and with fewer games due to COVID protocols. She has over 200 kills so far this year.

“I feel amazing especially after last year,” Nunez explained. “I just transferred schools and I couldn't play. It just really helped me in being here today. I just absolutely loved it. We really stepped up and I'm really proud of my team.”

The Dorados had some difficulty on serve receive and passing and Nunez acknowledged the issue. “We have to keep being the aggressor and then I’d say our passing needs to improve,” Nunez added. “Once we got our passing, we were pretty solid. When we keep our passing consistent we're good.”

Leah Palomares led Salpointe with 15 kills, Emma Hugeback had 11 and Moore had 10.

Canyon del Oro has a break and will host Cholla (3-7) on Oct. 19 and Salpointe travels to Sahuaro (4-7) Tuesday night.

Jalynn Ransom leads the Lancers in a cheer. The rematch should also be an exciting match to watch. (Andy Morales/AZPreps365)