Sappington and Romine help Aztecs volleyball earn tiebreaker win over Chandler-Gilbert; Seal No. 4 seed for Region Tourney

The Pima Community College volleyball team (13-13, 6-8 in ACCAC) sealed its spot in postseason after beating Chandler-Gilbert Community College on Wednesday.

• The Aztecs were forced to rally twice but they beat the Coyotes (6-17, 3-11) in a five-sets 25-27, 25-18, 25-27, 25-19, 15-12.
• In the tiebreaker, the Aztecs fell behind early at 4-1 forcing them to call timeout. They came back to score seven of the next eight points and take an 8-5 advantage. Pima took their biggest lead at 12-6 but the Coyotes rallied to cut it to two points at 13-11 and then 14-12. Freshman Ashlee Sappington (Mountain View HS) put down the final kill to seal the win.
• The Aztecs and the Coyotes played extra points in the first and third sets but Pima came up short in both games.
• Sappington finished with a team-high 15 kills. Freshman Jade Romine (Canyon del Oro HS) posted a double-double of 14 kills and 16 digs. Freshman Madi Nash (Sahuaro HS) also had a double-double of 10 kills and 22 digs to go along with four aces. Freshman Grace Adams (Sabino HS) had 21 digs and three aces. Freshman Mackenzie Welch (Willcox HS) contributed with six kills and six blocks.
• The Aztecs will be the No. 4 seed at next week's NJCAA Region I, Division II Tournament.

The Aztecs will close out the regular season on Friday when they host Scottsdale Community College at the West Campus Aztec Gymnasium at 7:00 p.m.