On Tuesday night, the No.1 seeded Nevada Union Miners varsity volleyball team (27-6, 10-0) hosted the first round of the 2023 California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) Sac-Joaquin D-III boys' volleyball playoffs. The Miners went up against the No.16 seed Mesa Verde Mavericks (14-12, 10-4), and Nevada Union dominated all three sets to win 3-0.
"It was a good game for us," Miners senior Brett Cota said. "We came out with a lot of energy. It was a nice way to start the playoffs."
The Miners started the first on a 10-0 run before the Mavericks would score their first point. Then, after Mesa Verde scored, Nevada Union outscored the Mavericks 15-3 to win the first set 25-4.
"The first set was 25-4," Miners senior Tate Beaudette said. "We just had to keep rolling like that through the playoffs."
In the second set, the Mavericks started up 3-0 before the Miners got it together and went on to win the set 25-11.
Nevada Union started fast in the third set with an 11-3 lead before closing out the set 25-12.
Even after a convincing win, the Miners still want to make improvements.
"We have to keep the energy up," Cota said. "We died down the last two sets. But we still got the job done. So if we keep that energy up, we will breeze through."
"Maintain energy and keep our serves in, and we will win," Beaudette added.
With Cota and Beaudette being seniors, they want to go out with a championship. Both players said, "That's the plan."
With the win, the Miners move on to the quarterfinals of the CIF Sac-Joaquin D-III playoffs against the No.9 seed, El Dorado Cougars (15-9, 8-1), tonight at 7:00 p.m. at Nevada Union High School, 11761, Ridge Rd, Grass Valley, CA, 95945.
