Page 68 - 2020 AIA Volleyball Championship Program

Finally, each of these four playmakers will need the rest of their senior teammates to step up, like outside hitter Roxy Crum and middle hitters Haylee Kroczynski and Sadelle Owens. The three upperclasswom- en combined for 194 kills during the regular season.
Junior libero Gisselle Vergara is key to the Ravens’ defense with a region-leading 119 digs. To beat Fountain Hills, though, senior middle blocker Makennah Schultz will need to come close to her season total of six blocks, and junior middle blockers Jazmin Felix and Kyla Knight will need to handle all the serves that come at them.
At first glance, Yuma Catholic High School would seem to deserve the No. 7 seed more than Nov. 14 opponent Gilbert Christian High School.
Gilbert Christian head coach Jenna Haagsma counters with a six- foot middle hitter of her own, sophomore Kali Nielsen, younger sister of junior setter Sierra Nielsen, just an inch shorter.
The taller Knights are flanked on the outside by juniors Hailey Vaught and Elli Wolthuis and in the back line by sophomore Daisy Midthun and junior Bella Williamson.
Junior defensive specialist Addisyn Mayfield rotates in to support the starters, along with senior libero Kylie Dickinson.
Other bench support is provided by senior Avery Schude, junior Kate Wallace and sophomores Lexi Sadler and Brianna Tennison.
#8 Fountain Hills (7-5, 4-5)
The Falcons never quite soared this fall, but after more than two weeks in quarantine, they are back as the final automatic qualifier in the 3A postseason, opening at 3 p.m. Nov. 14 against ninth-seeded Empire High School.
“I do not know anything about our opponent, as we didn’t have invitationals like in a normal year,” head coach Peter McGloin said. “We were fortunate to get the 8 seed because we would not have been allowed to participate in a play-in game while under quarantine.”
Five days after an Oct. 22 doubleheader sweep of Camp Verde High School, COVID-19 struck both the Falcons and Cowboys, who promptly cancelled the rest of their season.
“We were really growing from all the tough competition, and I thought we were ready to make some noise at the time that things got shut down for us,” said McGloin, who had imbued his eight seniors with the institutional memory of the Falcons’ 2017 state championship.
“Two weeks of not playing volleyball seems like forever, and we’ve been on an emotional roller coaster.”
McGloin, who had already lost his height for the season in six-foot, three-inch middle blocker Evie Perkins, had just two days to practice before the match with the Ravens.
“We thought our season was over, and I had come to that accep- tance...when the final seedings were posted,” he said. “The fact that we are playing Saturday is a shock, and I hope we just appreciate every moment, play as hard as we can, and have a lot of fun playing
#10 Yuma Catholic (12-3, 10-0)
together again.”
The Falcons finished fourth in the North Central Region title this fall
but have the balanced offense and the strength of schedule to throw a wrench into the ambitions of most of the top seeds.
“Gosh, I think we had the toughest schedule possible,” said McG- loin, whose Falcons lost twice to Northwest Christian and Valley Chris- tian and also dropped a tiebreaker at Arizona College Prep, a match “we thought we gave away,” he added. “So I think the seed is appropriate
The Shamrocks dominated the West Region, dropping just three sets against their 10 regional opponents, with two of their losses in match play coming in their season opener at sixth-seeded ALA - Gilbert North and Nov. 3 at Northwest Christian.
even with what looks like a poor 7-5 record.”
Against that schedule, senior outside hitters Grace Abrams and Me-
But, to lose out on an automatic qualifying bid to the state volley- ball tournament, all it can take is one off night, and that night came Oct. 10 at home for head coach Dusti Williamson against Casa Grande High School.
gan Bearer combined for 170 kills, and McGloin’s remaining six-footer, sophomore middle blocker Brooke Williams, is still one of the top 15 hitters in the 3A Conference.
The Shamrocks fell victim to nearly 75 errors, and by the time they clawed back from a 2-1 deficit, the Cougars had outlasted them in the tiebreaker, 16-14. Following the loss, Casa Grande dropped out of sight in the 5A Conference, and Yuma Catholic’s strength of schedule wasn’t enough to make up the difference.
“We will have to move some players around with [Perkins] out,” he said. “The bench is already tested and will be thin. Despite the difficul- ties, I’m very confident about this team.”
It’s all the same to sophomore setter Mia Kohoutek, who doesn’t leave the court anyway, according to McGloin, and is eighth in 3A with 271 assists. With 33 aces, she is also the team’s serve leader.
Still, setter Emma Gwynn and sophomore middle blocker Rian Martinez are among the top five servers in 3A, combining for 85 aces. Gwynn’s 326 assists are fourth-best in the conference, and Martinez’s 36 blocks are in the top 10 in the West Region.
Senior libero Ainsley Boersma, who added 23 aces and 79 digs this fall and “is a weapon from the service line,” McGloin said, will need to further expand her role. It also means other seniors like Layne Lease, Jordan Pace, Emerald Sopeland and Laken Wise will have
Senior outside hitter Rori Martinez is one of the top hitters in the region with 204 kills and 101 digs. Backing her up are two other seniors on a seven-senior roster, defensive specialists Venice Saco and Kylie Meerchaum, who combined this fall for 128 digs and 27 aces.
to step up to replace Perkins’ team-leading 18 blocks.
“My goal has been for this team to praise the process and not
focus so much on the results, and that will be especially important for us on Saturday after all the time off,” McGloin said. “If we do, we will be a very tough team to beat no matter how rusty we are.”
They get plenty of support from senior Jordan Jones and sopho- more Reese Sellers, who combined for 135 kills.
#9 Empire (11-1, 3-1)
#11 Blue Ridge (10-5, 7-3)
In the single month of a regular season the Ravens had to play oth- er Tucson-area teams, they made the most of it, losing out on the South Region title only after a split with 13th-seeded Tanque Verde.
The East Region runner-up, Blue Ridge High School’s tournament resume is defined by quality losses--all to tournament teams. The Yel- lowjackets dropped two matches to region champion Snowflake, one at fourth-seeded Thatcher High School, one at No. 15 seed Payson
Head coach Danny Arias’ team features one of the top seven hitters in 3A in junior outside hitter Sophia Vera, who averages nearly three kills every set she plays.
and their regular season finale, at the Gilbert North campus of Ameri- can Leadership Academy.
Setting her kills up, and the 119 of team leader Emmy Overson, is fellow junior Maliyah Johnson, who just missed the top 10 in assists with 242. Overson and Johnson will each need to improve on their team-leading 24 aces apiece.
Power rankings love a rematch, so after squeezing past Winslow High School in their play-in game, 3-1, Blue Ridge will face the sixth-seeded Eagles from ALA again.
Setter Maliyah Johnson and her Empire team will battle No. 8 seed Fountain Hills in the first round. (Joe Jackson Jr. photo/ MaxPreps)