Cienega defeated Rincon/University 3-1 (25-21, 25-23, 21-25, 25-17) to capture the Division II, Section I title on Thursday night.  With the win, the Bobcats joined the other section champions from D-II:  Ironwood won Section II, Seton Catholic won Section III, Mesquite won Section IV and Marana Mountain View won Section V.

All five section champions earned an automatic berth to the state playoffs but, in a special twist, the second place team from each section will also earn an automatic bid. Rincon (6-1 in section play) is still battling for that spot against section rival Sahuaro (6-1). That last guaranteed spot will be decided on Tuesday, May 3.

Ultimately, 10 teams will be guaranteed a playoff spot in the division while six teams will receive an at-large berth. The state playoffs are set to begin on Saturday, May 7.

Cienega (24-10) lost to Rincon (17-11) twice at the CDO Hitmen Invitational almost three weeks ago but matches played at invitationals do not count towards a program’s power-ranking. Cienega came into the match ranked second while Rincon was eleventh.

“We beat them at the CDO Invite and I knew they would come back upset,” Rincon head coach Zach Hoffman said on what he expected from Cienega. “They are all talented athletes and they played will tonight but I know we could play with anyone in the state if we choose to play to our potential. Still, I couldn’t be happier for where we are.”

The Rangers lost nine players to graduation from a squad that finished 34-5 last year. Hoffman correctly pointed out that his team is much younger this year with only two seniors on the court. It’s a strong case for powerhouse in the making.

The Bobcats are more balanced between seniors, juniors and sophomores this year just as they were last year when they finished 22-10.  But Cienega was unable to get out of the first round and Rincon was stalled in the second round. In fact, no Southern Arizona team made it to the quarterfinals last year under the old Division I format. This year might prove to be different.

Cienega was unable to pull away from Rincon in the first set, mainly due to four services errors to start things off, but the Bobcats went on to win it 25-21. The second set was even more of a battle with Rincon coming back several times from five-point deficits but Cienega held on for the 25-23 win.

Rincon controlled the third set from beginning to end to take it 25-21 but there would be no comeback with Cienega running away with the fourth set, 25-17.  Freshman Ethan Iago came up big in the deciding set by serving nine straight points (including two aces) to break open a slim 9-8 lead. By the time he was done, Cienega was sitting with an 18-9 lead.

“I was looking forward to playing with these guys and this team after taking part in open gym,” Iago said about his role as a freshman on one of the top teams in the state.

“We aren’t the kind of team that thinks about being good,” he added. “We are built together pretty well and we are still building as a team. We can get better.”

The Bobcats won that last set 25-17 and then briefly celebrated before gathering to talk about the match. Section titles are great but state is always the ultimate goal.

Rincon junior standout Diego Silva record 23 kills while senior Brian Guerrero added 20. Joey cable had 37 assists. For Cienega, Isaiah Murphy had 12 kills, Walker Frighetti had 11 and Skyler Cavanaugh had 10. Murphy also had 12 blocks. McLain Mott had 45 assists.

The Volleyball Bracket Show will be streamed live on Wednesday, May 4 at 2:30 p.m.