With two of the top-four seeds lining up from each other in the championship match, much of the chaos that had ruled the Nike TOC Southwest tournament had settled. All that was left to determine was this year’s champion.

Second-seeded Cornerstone Christian TX was looking to not only capture both Nike TOC events in 2023, but was also seeking to defend its tournament title here from a season ago. However, St. Francis/Mountain View CA wasn’t ready to play its part. Instead, the fourth-seeded Lancers were spoilers in defeating Cornerstone in three, 25-19, 22-25, 15-6, as they gear up for another state final run.

After suffering its only loss last year to Cathedral Catholic CA in the CIF Open Division state final, St. Francis beefed up its schedule this fall by adding the Durango Fall Classic and Nike TOC Southwest tourneys to its slate. A week after finishing in 13th place in Las Vegas, the Lancers had to put in a lot of work Saturday to rise to the top of the 32-team National division field.

All four outings went the distance, starting with its closest decision of the day in beating Beckman CA, 20-25, 25-18, 15-11, in qualifying pla. St. Francis was dominant in the decisive set the rest of the way. The Lancers beat Millennium AZ in the quarterfinals, 25-15, 24-26, 15-7, and then Liberty AZ in the semis, 11-25, 25-19, 15-4, before doing the same to Cornerstone – which took sixth at Durango last weekend – in the final there.

An anticipated rubber match between Cornerstone and top-seeded Sierra Canyon CA didn’t materialize. Cornerstone beat Sierra Canyon back in August during pool play at the Ann Kang Invitational. The sides ran into each other last weekend in Vegas, with Sierra Canyon sweeping Cornerstone in the quarterfinals and spoiling any chance of a rematch between Mira Costa CA – which beat Cornerstone in the Ann Kang final – and Cornerstone in the final.

There was no trilogy, however, as Sierra Canyon – playing without 4-star San Diego libero commit Lauren Lynch – was upset in the morning qualifying round by Sacred Heart Prep CA, 25-18, 25-20. It continued a trend of top seeds bowing out early, as No. 5 Sacred Heart Academy KY, No. 6 Corona del Sol and No. 7 Lake Highland Prep failed to advance on Day 1.

It opened the door for others to make noise.

One was Sunrise Mountain AZ. The Mustangs went 3-0 on Day 1 – including beating Corona del Sol – and then eliminated third-seeded Xavier Prep AZ in the quarterfinals. Xavier – a week after taking 11th at Durango – caught a tough break as freshman outside Tessa Larkin wasn’t available for this weekend’s tournament. As for Sunrise, the Mustangs’ hopes of a Cinderella run ended to Cornerstone in the semis, 25-14, 25-13.

Joining Sunrise Mountain in making waves was Liberty AZ. The Lions lost their season-opener to Xavier Prep before going on a seven-match winning streak. But it was a tough week heading into the Nike TOC as Liberty dropped matches to Sunnyslope, Corona del Sol and O’Connor before coming alive over the weekend.

It started with Liberty – which opened as the No. 9 seed – taking down No. 8 Marymount CA in three sets to win its pool Friday. Liberty then kept it going by beating Notre Dame Prep AZ in qualifying play Saturday morning before beating Sacred Heart Prep in the quarterfinals. St. Francis proved too much in the semifinals.

Sunrise Mountain beat Liberty in one game to 25 for third place. Xavier Prep swept Millennium to end up in fifth. Sacred Heart Prep downed Queen Creek AZ to wind up in seventh place.

Meanwhile, Marymount finished up in ninth place after Sierra Canyon forfeited that match. The two schools are in the same league and play each other this coming week, so it’s not surprising they wouldn’t play to close Saturday’s action.

Marymount had a shot at the platinum bracket but was stunned when Queen Creek AZ produced a giant rally in qualifying play. Marymount took the opening set and was leading 20-13 in Game 2 before the Bulldogs turned it around and prevailed in three, 24-26, 25-23, 15-13.

In the Premier division, it was Canyon View AZ beating Verrado AZ, 14-25, 25-19, 15-10, for the title. In the Elite division, Christian CA swept Seton Catholic AZ, 25-19, 25-16, in the final.