a.e. araiza / arizona daily star

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Receptionist

Third-seeded Rincon/University (18-22) entered Thursday's 5A Southern II region tournament with a different mind-set than No. 4 Sunnyside.

"You come into a tournament where this is nothing. No power points," Rincon coach Juanita Kingston said.

"This is for bragging rights, period."

For Sunnyside (3-31), it was the team's last chance to extend its season. But the Blue Devils fell to Rincon 25-23 in the third game, after losing 25-11 in Games 1 and 2.

"We had a lot of heart," Sunnyside coach Daniel Bartley said. "Losing the way we did in the first two games, it took a lot of heart to play like that."

After Rincon opened the third with a 4-0 lead, Sunnyside's Amanda Martinez planted the ball in the Rangers' wide-open backcourt to tie it. The Blue Devils then won six of the next seven points.

"Whatever their record is, those girls just keep playing," Kingston said. "Dan has done a great job keeping them positive. It's really good to see that."

The Rangers battled back from as many as seven points behind to tie Game 3 at 22 with an ace from Becca Anzalone. Another ace gave Rincon the permanent lead.

"Playing hard but coming up short is really hard," Bartley said.

It took less than 15 minutes for the Rangers to take Game 1. After Sunnyside's Kersten Linsangan followed her ace with a serve out to put the game at 5-2, Rincon's Jessica Reilly did the same.

But the Rangers rebounded by taking the next four points to pull ahead. Belinda Tellez ended the game with a tip.

Sunnyside came back in Game 2. With help from Rincon errors, the Blue Devils tied the game at 7, but then made four consecutive errors to give Rincon the lead.

Rincon went on to score eight unanswered points to end the game.

In other 5A Southern I action, No. 3 Sierra Vista Buena swept No. 4 Casa Grande 25-10, 29-27, 25-17.

After scoring six straight points to end Game 1, the Colts (12-15) had trouble holding off the Cougars (7-16) in the second. The teams were tied at 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26 and 27 before a wide hit from Casa Grande's Anissa Yubeta gave Buena the push it needed.

"I don't think we were being as aggressive (in Game 2)," Buena coach Amy Cooper said. "It's pretty common for a team when they do a really good job and win 25-10 to let your guard down."

The teams were close again in Game 3. With the teams tied at 8 after a failed block from Buena, the Colts were revitalized with hits from Brielle Eaton and Kelsey Neese.