Yeshemabet Turner willed her way into a state volleyball tournament she can't play in.

The Pecos junior hitter, playing with a dislocated elbow, managed a match-high 11 kills to lead the Lady Panthers to a thrilling 25-23, 23-25, 26-24, 21-25, 15-10 upset of host Santa Fe Preparatory in the District 4AA Tournament semifinal Wednesday.

The win earns Pecos, a team that finished the regular season with a 3-10 record, a surprising berth into next week's Class AA state tournament — a tournament Turner will not play in.

Instead, Turner will leave the country Sunday and join her parents for a monthlong humanitarian aid trip to Ethiopia.

"She was crying during a timeout (in Game 4) because it hurt so bad," first-year Pecos head coach Charles Vigil said of Turner's injury. "I asked her if she wanted to come out and she said, 'No. Please don't pull me out. I want to finish.' "

For Turner, a multisport star, knowing this would be her last week of competitive athletics for a while, the decision was easy.

"I wanted to do it for these girls," Turner said. "For this program. I wasn't leaving this game for anything."

Said senior setter Geneva Rivera, a transfer from West Las Vegas who also teams with Turner on the Pecos basketball team, Turner "is as stubborn as I am. I knew she wasn't leaving."

When it wasn't Turner's high-flying kills stunning the favored Blue Griffins, it was Rivera's steady senior leadership and timely points that kept Prep from gaining much momentum throughout the match.

"I don't know why, but we haven't played together pretty much all year until tonight," Rivera said. "I know how it sounds, but we really are way better than our record shows, when we decide to play as a team like we did tonight."

Pecos, which lost to Prep 3-1 and 3-0 in the district season, improves to 5-10 on the season.

For Prep, the first year under head coach Diana Ronquillo comes to a premature end with a 12-9 record. And despite the outcome of the match, Ronquillo said she would have a hard time hanging her head.

"I know that this team is a better team right now than when we started," Ronquillo said. "I know they did the little things right, they are a more technically sound team right now, and they played really well tonight. There were some times we shot ourselves in the foot with some mistakes, but you can't take anything away from how good Pecos played."

Prep was led by the steady hand of senior setter Marissa Naranjo, who capped a standout volleyball career for the Griffins.

"I hate singling any one player out because I'm all about team," Ronquillo said, "But it's hard not to pat Marissa on the back for the way she played. She was amazing. She, and really every one of our seniors, they left it all on the court and that should make them proud."

After 16 lead changes through four back-and-forth games, Pecos dominated Game 5, jumping out to a 10-4 lead before cruising to the win and a chance to meet Mora in Friday night's 4AA championship.

Despite Mora sweeping Pecos in both regular-season matches, the Lady Panthers think the way they're playing now, they're as good as any team.

"It took awhile for us to click," Rivera said. "But better late than never."

Contact Geoff Grammer at 986-3060 or ggrammer@sfnewmexican.com. Read his blog at grammerschoolblog.com.