Raymundo Frasquillo Photo/Gila Herald: Sophomore Makenzie Lunt (11) and junior Maggie Draper collide while going for a dig. The No. 16 Eagles fell in three sets to No. 4 Safford during a region match on Oct. 2. Thatcher defeated Palo Verde Magnet and Safford defeated 4A Flowing Wells, both in Tucson, on Wednesday, Oct. 4.
Bulldogs climb to No. 3, Thatcher drops to No. 18
By Raymundo Frasquillo
TUCSON – The Graham County teams both headed to the Old Pueblo on Wednesday, Oct. 4, and came away victorious in straight sets. Thatcher defeated Palo Verde Magnet 3-0 for a region match, and Safford defeated the 4A No. 33 Flowing Wells Caballeros in three straight sets in non-region play.
Safford, with a different line-up and roster, topped the No. 17 Eagles 3-0 as No. 4 during a 3A South Region pairing in Thatcher earlier in the week. The outcome of the pairing was Safford went up one and Thatcher down one in the rankings a day later.
Palo Verde Magnet Titans (3-15 overall)
The Titans (3-15 overall, 2-9 seeding, 0-2 3A South Region) have won 2-11 (.182) seeding and 1-6 (.167) tourney matches or 6-35 (.171) and 2-12 (.167) sets, respectively.
Palo Verde’s seeding wins are 3-0 (25-13, 25-13, 25-16) over Tucson San Miguel Catholic (Sept. 7) and 3-2 over Catalina (Sept. 15).
The losses are 0-3 to Douglas (Sept. 5), 0-3 (15-25, 13-25, 5-25) to Rio Rico (Sept. 11), 0-3 (6-25, 11-25, 10-25) to Florence (Sept. 13), 0-3 (4-25, 9-25, 3-25) to Tombstone (Sept. 18), 0-3 (14-25, 15-25, 2125) to Sahuaro (Sept. 20), 0-3 (5-25, 11-25, 9-25) to Saint Augustine Catholic (Sept. 21), 0-3 (9-25, 9-25, 4-25) to Pusch Ridge (Sept. 26), 0-3 (24-26, 14-25, 24-26) to Desert Christian (Sept. 27), and 0-3 (10-25, 8-25, 5-25) to Empire (Sept. 28).
Palo Verde Magnet left its own 2-day (Sept. 1-2) meet winning 1-6 (.167) pairings or 2-12 (.167) sets.
The Titans have six remaining matches, one non-region, and five in region play. A visit to The Gregory School (Oct. 5) clears their non-region slate while visiting Catalina (Oct. 16) and Tanque Verde (Oct. 17), hosting Sabino (Oct. 19), visiting Safford (Oct. 23), and hosting San Miguel (Oct. 25) completes their region schedule.
A 13-member roster has seniors Anabelle Ayers, Melissa Badilla, Marieaake Schmidt, and Vanessa Torres; juniors Kynnedi Bell, Olivia Johnson, Stephany Montano Leyva, Dearyion Lupo, Anisa Lira Schofield, Ava Spalding, Stellaisha Ward, and Paige White; and sophomore Mariah Brown.
Thatcher Eagles (6-15)
Thatcher (6-15, 5-5, 2-1 3A South Region) has won eight seeding matches and 10 of 20 tourney matches.
The Eagles have seeding wins of 3-0 (25-13, 25-7, 25-7) over Sabino (Aug. 28), 3-0 (25-10, 25-13, 25-16) over Sahuarita Walden Grove (Aug. 30), 3-0 (25-19, 25-19, 25-17) over Pima (Sept. 13), 3-2 (21-25, 25-15, 25-12, 25-27, 15-12) over Tanque Verde (Sept. 19), and 3-0 (25-4, 25-16, 25-6) over San Miguel Catholic (Sept. 26).
Thatcher fell 0-3 (11-25, 20-25, 17-25) to Snowflake (Aug. 24), 0-3 (19-25, 19-25, 12-25) to Tucson Canyon del Oro (Sept. 5), 0-3 (5-25, 16-25, 22-25) to Mica Mountain (Sept. 7), 0-3 (14-25, 18-25, 20-25) to Chandler Valley Christian (Sept. 15), and 0-3 (19-25, 13-25, 14-25) to Safford (Oct. 2).
The Eagles went 0-7 during the Chandler tourney (Sept. 1-2) and 0-3 during the Red Mountain tourney (Sept. 8-9), losing 14 of 16 and 6-6 sets, respectively.
The remaining region matches are against Tucson schools, with Pusch Ridge (Oct. 10), at Catalina (Oct. 12), with Empire (Oct. 17), and with Tanque Verde (Oct. 19).
Two non-region pairings, at Pusch Ridge (Oct. 23) and with Blue Ridge (Oct. 25), as well as a two-day tourney in Florence (Oct. 13-14), are yet to be played.
The Eagles include seniors Avery Bingham, Macey Carter, and Marli Lopeman; juniors Kadie Bingham, Kenady Davis, Maggie Draper, Laci Hull, and Adysen Smith; sophomores Tyla Bryce, Presley Cummard, Shaylee Hughes, Makenzi Lunt, Lanie Larson, Emry Nelson, Kylia Nelson; and freshman Lillie Welker.
Following Wells Caballeros (7-14)
The Caballeros (7-14, 4-6, 0-3 4A Kino Region) have won 4-10 (.400) seeding and 3-10 (.300) tourney matches or 19-37 (.514) and 9-23 (.391) sets, respectively.
Flowing Wells’ seeding wins are 3-2 (25-23, 23-25, 25-20, 22-25, 15-10) over Douglas (Aug. 30), 3-0 (25-8, 25-17, 25-13) over Sabino (Sept. 11), 3-0 (25-13, 25-13, 25-12) over Catalina (Sept. 13), and 3-1 (25-22, 25-21, 19-25, 25-16) over Amphitheater (Sept. 18).
The losses are 2-3 (21-25, 22-25, 27-25, 25-17, 12-15) to Sahuarita Walden Grove (Sept. 7), 1-3 (27-25, 21-25, 23-25, 15-25) to Sahuarita (Sept. 14), 2-3 (11-25, 25-20, 18-25, 25-22, 15-17) to Nogales (Sept. 20), 0-3 (9-25, 5-25, 10-25) to Salpointe Catholic (Sept. 25), 0-3 (14-25, 12-25, 19-25) to Canyon del Oro (Oct. 2), and 2-3 (25-18, 25-22, 20-25, 23-25, 14-16) to Sahuaro (Oct. 3).
Flowing Wells left its own 2-day tourney (Sept. 8-9) winning 2-5 (.400) pairings or 6-12 sets (.500) and the Chandler Prep tourney (Sept. 22-23) with 1-5 (.200) wins or 3-11 (.273) sets.
A two-day tourney at Salpointe (Oct. 6-7) and five region matches remain. The Caballeros host Canyon del Oro (Oct. 11) and Sahuaro (Oct. 19), visit Pueblo (Oct. 23) and Salpointe (Oct. 25), and host Pueblo (Oct. 26).
The 15-member roster has seniors Kayla Bailey, Evelyn Dominguez, Eva Escarcega, Saphire Ramon, Denikza Rodriguez, Leila Rodriguez, Lily Rodriguez, and Stormie Vass; juniorsAAliya Barnette, Corrine Cervini, Kaylee Martinez, and Karmen Parag; and sophomores Grace Howell, Evelyn Kirchoff, and Cady Trausch.
Safford Bulldogs (20-20-1)
The Bulldogs (20-20-1 overall, 9-0 seeding, 3-0 3A South Region) have won nine seeding matches, eight in three sets and one in four sets, with a set win percentage of 96 (27-28) and 10 of 20 tourney matches.
Safford’s seeding wins are 3-0 (25-13, 25-13, 25-16) over Tucson Cholla (Aug. 29), 3-0 (25-13, 25-13, 25-16) over Sahuarita (Sept. 5), 3-0 (25-9, 25-5, 25-11) over Tucson Sabino (Sept. 7), 3-0 (25-11, 25-7, 25-19) over New Mexico Silver (Sept. 13), 3-0 (25-16, 25-19, 25-14) over Show Low (Sept. 19), 3-1 (25-21, 25-18, 21-25, 29-27) over Tucson Tanque Verde (Sept. 21), 3-0 (25-13, 25-13, 25-5) over Tucson Amphitheater (Sept. 25), 3-0 over Tucson Catalina (Sept. 26), and 3-0 (25-19, 25-13, 25-15) over Thatcher (Oct. 2).
Participation in three 2-day tourneys resulted in winning 10 of 20 (.500) pairings or 27-50 sets (.540). The Bulldogs left 4-2 from the Glendale Estrella Foothills tourney (Sept. 1-2), 2-3-1 from the Snowflake tourney (Sept. 15-16), and 4-4 from the Gilbert North American Leadership tourney (Sept. 29-30).
Safford’s remaining region matches are all against Tucson schools, at San Miguel (Oct. 10), at Pusch Ridge Christian (Oct. 12), with Sabino (Oct. 17), at Empire (Oct. 19), and with Palo Verde Magnet (Oct. 23).
Three non-region road matches also remain, at Tucson Flowing Wells (Oct. 4), at Blue Ridge (Oct. 21), and at Snowflake (Oct. 25).
The mid-season adjusted 11-member roster has seniors Mia Abalos and Jaidyn Mortensen; junior Breanna Arbizo; sophomores Kai-Lee Cordova, Jerzi Hawkins, Rhylie Klajda, and Alexis Rope; and freshmen Payton Abalos, Mackenna Macario, Jazzlyn Mortensen, and Lanae Schurtz.
3A State Rankings
Statewide rankings as of Oct. 3 had Chandler Valley Christian (12-0 seeding, 23.4626 rating) No. 1, Phoenix Northwest Christian (10-1, 16.7827) No. 2, Safford (9-0, 16.6119) No. 3, Snowflake (9-1, 16.5651) No. 4, Kayenta Monument Valley (8-0, 16.60976) No. 5, Show Low (10-2, 11.9852) No. 6, Buckeye Odyssey Institute (10-1, 10.6888) No. 7, and Queen Creek Benjamin Franklin (8-3, 9.1994) No. 8.
Chinle (7-2, 8.6572) was No. 9, Fountain Hills (8-3, 8.4775) No. 10, Winslow (8-3, 8.1437) No. 11, Scottsdale Christian (6-5, 8.1195) No. 12, Gilbert Christian (7-6, 7.2310) No. 13, Page (7-2, 6.1133) No. 14, Parker (7-2, 6.0466) No. 15, and Waddell American Leadership – West Foothills (6-1, 4.5547) No. 16.
Fort Defiance Window Rock (3-4, 4.3668) was No. 17, Thatcher (5-5, 3.3647) No. 18, Florence (8-3, 2.8975) No. 19, Queen Creek Crimson (7-2, 2.8515) No. 20, Tucson Tanque Verde (5-4, 2.8288) No. 21, Holbrook (4-6, 2.3324) No. 22, Camp Verde (6-5, 2.1219) No. 23, and Tuba City (2-3, 2.1478) No. 24.
The initial listings on Sept. 26 had Valley Christian (9-0 seeding, 21.0084 rating) No. 1, Safford (7-0, 15.6876) No. 2, Northwest Christian (7-1, 14.9413) No. 3, Snowflake (7-1, 13.0487) No. 4, Monument Valley (4-0, 12.2563) No. 5, Show Low (8-1, 11.7905) No. 6, Odyssey Institute (8-1, 10.1720) No. 7, and Scottsdale Christian (4-4, 8.5072) No. 8.
Chinle (6-1, 7.8486) was No. 9, Benjamin Franklin (5-3, 6.8851) No. 10, Parker (5-2, 6.1407) No. 11, Winslow (5-3, 5.7052) No. 12, Fountain Hills (5-2, 5.6614) No. 13, Gilbert Christian (5-5, 5.1831) No. 14, Holbrook (4-3, 4.1430) No. 15, and ALA – West Foothills (4-1, 3.7893) No. 16.
Florence (8-2, 2.5649) was No. 17, Window Rock (2-2, 3.4117) No. 18, Page (4-2, 3.1575) No. 19, Tanque Verde (4-4, 3.0068) No. 20, Tuba City (2-2, 2.8096) No. 21, Holbrook (4-5, 2.7616) No. 22, Crimson (6-2, 2.1308) No. 23, and Whiteriver Alchesay (4-3, 2.0648) No. 24.
3A South Region Standings
Region standings, as of Tuesday morning (Oct. 3), had Safford (9-0 seeding, 3-0 region) first, Pusch Ridge Christian (6-5, 3-0) second, Thatcher (5-5, 2-1) third, Tanque Verde (5-4, 2-1) fourth, Empire (5-5, 2-2) fifth, Sabino (2-10, 1-2) sixth, Palo Verde Magnet (2-9, 0-2) seventh, San Miguel Catholic (1-8, 0-2) eighth, and Catalina (0-9, 0-3) ninth.
Safford (3-0) has region wins of 3-1 (25-21, 25-18, 21-25, 29-27) over Tucson Tanque Verde (Sept. 21), 3-0 over Tucson Catalina (Sept. 26), and 3-0 over Thatcher (Oct. 2);
Pusch Ridge (3-0) 3-0 (25-9, 25-9, 25-4) over Palo Verde Magnet (Sept. 26), 3-0 (25-10, 25-2, 25-3) over Catalina (Sept. 28), and 3-1 (21-25, 25-18, 25-12, 25-17) over Empire (Oct. 2);
Thatcher (2-1) 3-0 (25-13, 25-7, 25-7) over Sabino (Aug. 28) and 3-0 (4-16-6) over San Miguel (Sept. 26);
Tanque Verde (2-1) 3-1 (25-20, 25-17, 21-25, 25-15) over Empire (Aug. 31), and 3-0 (25-3, 25-16, 25-6) over San Miguel (Oct. 4);
Empire 3-0 (25-16, 25-19, 25-11) over Sabino (Sept. 26) and 3-0 (25-10, 25-8, 25-5) over Palo Verde Magnet (Sept. 28); and Sabino (1-2) 3-0 over Catalina (Oct. 2).
