Safford, Thatcher volleyball futures appear bright
By Raymundo Frasquillo
STATEWIDE – Safford senior outside hitter/blocker Breanna Arbizo (5) and sophomore middle hitter/blocker Payton Abalos (1), along with Thatcher senior libero Maggie Draper (1), were selected to the 3A South Region First Team. The Graham County trio was part of the recently released seven-member All-Region First Team, as voted on by region member head coaches. There were seven on the Second Team and 18 Honorable Mention.
All-Region 1st Team/Offensive Player-of-the-Year
Safford junior libero Kai-lee Cordova (7) and sophomore setter Jazzlyn Mortensen (3) were on the Second Team, while juniors outside hitter/blocker Rhylie Klajda (4) and middle hitter/blocker Alexis Rope (10) were named Honorable Mention. Abalos was also tabbed the region’s Offensive Player-of-the-Year, and Maggie Draper was co-Defensive Player-of-the-Year.
Thatcher junior outside hitter/middle blocker Makenzi Lunt (11) was on the Second Team, while senior outside hitter/blocker Laci Hull (7), junior setter Shaylee Hughes (10), sophomore middle blocker Matti Gallett (13), and freshman outside hitter/blocker Jocelyn Lunt (12) were listed as Honorable Mention.
South Region champion Pusch Ridge Christian landed three on the First Team, three Honorable Mention, junior Alexis Ferbeyer as region Defensive Player-of-the-Year, senior Estelle Fetsis as region Player-of-the-Year, and head coach Jamie Ricksecker as region Coach-of-the-Year; fourth place Tanque Verde had one on the First Team, three on the Second Team, and three Honorable Mention; fifth place Empire had one on the Second Team and three Honorable Mention; sixth place Sabino had one Honorable Mention; seventh place Palo Verde Magnet had one Honorable Mention; ninth place Catalina had one Honorable Mention.
State Tourney Championships
All-Region 1st Team
Chandler schools No. 1 Valley Christian (18-0 seeding, 30.5360 rating, 8-2 Central Region for second of five) and No. 7 Seton Catholic Prep (14-4, 14.0140, 10-0 Central Region for first of five) met for the 3A title in the Arizona Veterans’ Memorial Coliseum on Nov. 16. It was the second of five state championship matches being held there.
The Chandler schools met twice previously during regular season region pairings, with Valley Christian prevailing in three sets both times. The third time, the result was no different. Valley Christian captured the 3A title in three sets (25-17, 25-14, 25-15).
All-Region 2nd Team
Championship Saturday began with the 2A finalists, No. 1 Phoenix Country Day School (16-1, 19.4950, 8-0 Valley Region for first of nine) defeating No. 2 Scottsdale Christian (15-2, 16.3457, 8-0 Central Region for first of nine) 3-0 (25-18, 25-19, 25-23), 4A No. 3 Goodyear Estrella Foothills (17-1, 19.3644, 10-0 West Valley Region for first of six) defeated No. 4 Tucson Mica Mountain (15-2, 18.3236, 6-2 Kino Region for second of five) 3-0 (25-23, 25-16, 25-20), 5A No. 2 Phoenix Horizon (14-3, 195127, 12-0 East Sky Region for first of seven) upset No. 1 Sunrise Mountain (16-1, 22.9228, 10-0 Northwest Region for first of six) 3-1 (15-25, 25-23, 25-23, 28-26), and 6A No. 1 Phoenix Xavier Prep (16-1, 31.9030, 7-1 Central Region for first of five) defeated No. 3 Tempe Corona del Sol (15-2, 28.1476, 6-2 Central Region for second of five) 3-1 (25-16, 25-16, 17-25, 27-25).
The 1A title was earned by No. 2 Scottsdale Cicero Prep (14-3, 10.9163, 7-0 East Region for first of eight) via a 3-1 (25-20, 25-15, 12-25, 25-21) win over Colorado City El Capitan (18-1, 8.8312, 8-0 North Region for first of 11) at Scottsdale Coronado on Nov. 9.
3A State Tourney
Semifinal pairings at Phoenix Mountain Pointe resulted in the elimination in four sets (25-17, 25-23, 18-25, 25-18) of No. 5 Snowflake (15-2 seeding, 16.2701 rating) by No. 1 Valley Christian and in four sets (25-22, 25-20, 15-25, 25-22) of No. 3 Phoenix Northwest Christian (16-2, 22.0741) by No. 7 Seton Catholic.
All-Region 1st Team/co-Defensive Player-of-the-Year.
The quarterfinals at Millennium had No. 1 Valley Christian defeating No. 8 Parker (14-2, 13.1110) 3-0 (25-18, 25-21, 25-16) and No. 5 Snowflake defeating No. 13 Queen Creek Benjamin Franklin (9-9, 5.7525) 3-0 (25-19, 25-19, 25-20) in the upper bracket as well as No. 3 Northwest Christian defeating No. 6 Tucson Pusch Ridge Christian (16-2, 15.7653) 3-2 (24-26, 20-25, 25-19, 25-21, 15-5) and No. 7 Seton Catholic defeating No. 2 Gilbert Christian (16-2, 22.3692) 3-0 (25-23, 25-22, 25-21).
All-Region 2nd Team
First round pairings at Millennium had advancements by No. 1 Valley Christian defeating No. 16 Window Rock (11-6, 4.7605) 3-0 (25-8, 25-12, 25-11), No. 8 Parker defeating No. 9 Safford Bulldogs (13-4, 11.0058) 3-1 (25-22, 25-23, 12-25, 25-15), No. 5 Snowflake defeating No. 12 Buckeye Odyssey Institute (10-7, 6.1681) 3-0 (25-11, 25-16, 25-19), and No. 4 Monument Valley defeating No. 13 Queen Creek Benjamin Franklin (9-9, 5.7525) 3-2 (25-17, 19-25, 25-11, 18-25, 15-8) in the upper bracket.
The lower bracket had No. 3 Northwest Christian defeating No. 14 Tucson Tanque Verde (12-5, 5.2264) 3-2 (25-18, 25-21, 24-26, 18-25, 15-10), No. 6 Pusch Ridge defeating No. 11 Waddell American Leadership – West Foothills (12-5, 9.3013) 3-1 (23-25, 25-14, 25-19, 25-18), No. 7 Seton Catholic defeating No. 10 Florence (12-5, 9.5849) 3-0 (25-16, 25-19, 25-9), and No. 2 Gilbert Christian defeating No. 15 Show Low (10-7, 5.0559) 3-0 (25-12, 25-22, 25-18).
3A State Play-in Round
Play-in round pairings on Nov. 5 resulted in all the higher seeds advancing, with No. 9 Safford defeating No. 24 Chinle (9-9, 1.8944) 3-1 (23-25, 28-26, 25-9, 25-23), No. 10 Florence (12-5, 9.5849) defeated No. 23 Thatcher (7-10, 1.9430) 3-2 (25-23, 27-29, 25-11, 12-25, 15-11), No. 11 ALA – West Foothills (12-5 seeding, 9.3013 rating) defeating No. 22 Tuba City (6-9, 2.1860) 3-1, No. 12 Odyssey Institute (10-7, 6.1681) defeating No. 21 Lakeside Blue Ridge (7-10, 2.3212) 3-1 (25-14, 25-20, 26-28, 25-17), No. 13 Benjamin Franklin (9-9, 5.7525) defeating No. 20 Yuma Catholic (11-7, 2.6493) 3-0, No. 14 Tanque Verde defeating No. 19 Ganado (9-7, 2.6878) 3-0 (25-14, 25-17, 25-15), No. 15 Show Low (10-7, 8-0) defeating No. 18 Payson (11-7, 3.7733) 3-0 (25-12, 25-22, 25-22), and No. 16 Fort Defiance Window Rock (11-6, 4.7605) defeating No. 17 Tucson Empire (11-6, 3.8356) 3-0 (25-11, 26-24, 25-16).
No. 8 Parker – 3, No. 9 Safford – 1
Safford had a 21-10 fourth-set advantage before the Broncs racked up 15 consecutive points to tie, go ahead, and win the match.
“We got caught in a rotation we couldn’t get out of,” fourth-year Safford head coach Robert Abalos said. “They went on a 15-2 serving spree, and we couldn’t do anything about it.”
All-Region 2nd Team
However, the Bulldogs wound up with the second-best record in at least a decade, going 37-10 overall in matches played and 85-30 in sets played. They also had the best two-season region record with 15-1 and did it all with one senior on the roster. The previous best was the 2013 version of 39-8-1.
Four club teams, two for middle school and two for high school worked during the off-season. All team members were Safford-enrolled students.
“I don’t need to call a time-out,” Abalos said. “Several players are court savvy, and they can adjust on the fly.”
The current 16-member varsity roster included one senior, eight juniors, five sophomores, and two freshmen. Breanna Arbizo (5) was the senior, joined by juniors Marina Balistreri (11), Kai-lee Cordova (7), Alanna Foxworth (14), Jerzi Hawkins (6), Rhylie Klajda (4), Mia Peru (12), Bianca Quintero (9), and Alexis Rope (10); sophomores Payton Abalos (1), Jaycee Gable (16), Mackenna Macario (13), Jazzlyn Mortensen (3), Lanae Shurtz (8); and freshmen Kassidy Anderson (15) and Jaydyn Coy (2).
Krysten Abalos, Shantelle Barker, and Mickey Hawkins assisted fourth-year head coach Robert Abalos.
No. 9 Safford Bulldogs (13-4, 11.0058)
All-Region Honorable Mention
Safford (13-4 seeding, 7-1 South Region for second of nine) was 41-15 in seeding sets played. The Bulldogs had seeding match wins of 3-1 (22-25, 25-16, 25-13, 25-22) over Rio Rico (Sept. 3), 3-0 (25-15, 26-24, 25-23) over Sahuarita (Sept. 4), 3-0 (25-18, 25-21, 25-15) over Queen Creek American Leadership – Ironwood (Sept. 12), 3-0 (25-9, 25-6, 25-11) over Palo Verde Magnet (Sept. 16), 3-0 (25-20, 25-23, 25-20) over Thatcher (Sept. 24), 3-0 (25-15, 25-11, 25-18) over Empire (Oct. 9), 3-0 (25-6, 25-8, 25-13) over Sabino (Oct. 17), 3-0 (25-16, 25-15, 25-16) over Lakeside Blue Ridge (Oct. 18), 3-1 (25-23, 17, 22-25, 17) over Show Low (Oct. 21), 3-0 (25-2, 25-8, 25-8) Andrada Polytechnic (Oct. 22), 3-1 over Tanque Verde (Oct. 24), 3-0 (25-9, 25-13, 25-11) over Catalina (Oct. 28), and 3-0 (25-21, 25-21, 25-16) over Thatcher (Oct. 30).
The losses were 0-3 (23-25, 15-25, 23-25) to Chandler Valley Christian (Sept. 6), 1-3 (22-25, 23-25, 25-12, 23-25) to Tucson Canyon del Oro (Sept. 9), 0-3 (18-25, 21-25, 8-25) Snowflake (Oct. 1), and 1-3 (25-13, 18-25, 15-25, 21-25) to Pusch Ridge (Oct. 15).
Additionally, the Bulldogs went 4-1 during the 2-day Goodyear Estrella Foothills tourney on Sept. 13-14, 7-2 during the 2-day Snowflake tourney on Sept. 2-21, and 10-2 during the 2-day Florence tourney on Oct. 11-12. They posted combined tourney records of 21-5 in matches and 44-15 in sets played.
All-Region Honorable Mention
In Goodyear, the Bulldogs defeated Tonopah Valley 2-0 (25-21, 25-11), Cottonwood Mingus 2-0 (25-20, 25-16), Odyssey Institute 2-0 (25-17, 25-22) on Sept. 13, and Glendale Trivium Prep 2-1 (12-25, 25-13, 15-7) on Sept. 14.
The Snowflake tourney had wins of 2-0 (21-12, 21-10) over Blue Ridge, 2-0 (21-15, 21-8) over Chinle, 2-1 (17-21, 21-17, 17-15) over Show Low, and 2-0 (21-15, 21-12) over Round Valley on Sept. 20 along with 2-0 (21-16, 21-9) over Phoenix Mountain Pointe, 2-1 (16-21, 21-15, 1-0) over Show Low, and 2-1 (18-21, 21-17, 15-10) over Payson on Sept. 21. The losses were 1-2 (21-12, 19-21, 10-15) to Gilbert Mesquite and 0-2 (13-21, 16-21) to Mesquite on Sept. 21.
In Florence, The Bulldogs posted wins of 3-0 (21-18, 21-10, 10-5) over Crimson, 3-0 (21-21-7, 21-9, 16-10) over Laveen Heritage, 3-0 (21-11, 21-9, 8-5) over Morenci, and 3-0 (25-18, 25-21, 25-15) over ALA – Ironwood on Oct. 11 along with 2-0 (21-17, 21-9) over Tempe Marcos de Niza, 1-0 (25-18) over Show Low, 1-0 (25-18) over Arizona Lutheran, 1-0 (25-20) Florence, 2-0 (25-24, 25-19) over Crimson, and 1-0 (25-19) over Crimson on Oct. 12. The losses were 0-3 (17-21, 12-21, 2-6) to Show Low and 1-2 (20-25, 25-17, 9-15) to Arizona Lutheran on Oct. 12.
During the post-season, Safford won a play-in round match against No. 24 Chinle 3-1 (23-25, 28-26, 25-9, 25-23) on Nov. 5 and succumbed 1-3 (22-25, 23-25, 25-12, 15-25) to No. 8 Parker in the first round on Nov. 9.
Safford wound up with a 35-10 overall match record and an 88-33 sets record for the 2024 campaign.
No. 23 Thatcher Eagles (7-10, 1.9430)
All-Region Honorable Mention
Thatcher (7-10 seeding, 1.9430 rating, 5-3 region for fourth of nine) was 28-31 in seeding sets played. The Eagles had seeding match wins of 3-0 (25-12, 25-10, 25-20) win over Amphitheater (Sept. 18), 3-0 (25-10, 25-9, 25-7) over Andrada Polytechnic (Oct. 7), 3-1 (25-27, 25-21, 25-23, 25-15) over Empire (Oct. 15), 3-0 (25-10, 25-14, 25-6) over Palo Verde Magnet (Oct. 17), 3-0 (25-9, 25-9, 25-10) over Catalina (Oct. 18), 3-0 (25-12, 25-13, 25-13) over Sabino (Oct. 24), and 3-0 (25-19, 25-22, 25-21) Show Low (Oct. 24).
The losses were 2-3 (15-25, 25-17, 23-25, 25-19, 7-15) to Chandler Seton Catholic (Sept. 3), 1-3 (25-17, 14-25, 21-25, 16-25) to Pusch Ridge (Sept. 10), 0-3 (23-25, 17-25, 24-26) to Sahuarita (Sept. 12), 2-3 (18-25, 25-15, 21-25, 25-23, 9-15) to Payson (Sept. 16), 0-3 (14-25, 12-25, 19-25) to Chandler Valley Christian (Sept. 19), 0-3 (20-25, 23-25, 20-25) to Safford (Sept. 24), 1-3 (20-25, 17-25, 25-22, 17-25) to Snowflake (Sept. 27), 1-3 (16-25, 20-25, 25-21, 17-25) to Tanque Verde (Oct. 1), 0-3 (19-25, 19-25, 22-25) to Pusch Ridge (Oct. 22), and 0-3 (21-25, 21-25, 16-25) to Safford (Oct. 30).
In addition, the Eagles went a combined 3-11 during three tourneys, 0-3 (0-6 sets) in the 2-day Payson tourney on Aug. 30-31, 2-5 (5-10 sets) in the 2-day Mesa/Red Mountain/Skyline/Westwood tourney on Sept. 6-7, and 1-3 (2-6 sets) in the 2-day Dobson tourney on Oct. 4-5.
The losses were 0-3 (20-21, 20-21, 7-8) to Phoenix Horizon Honors (Aug. 30), 0-1 (19-25) to Chandler Prep (Aug. 31), and 0-2 (20-21, 20-21) to Flagstaff Northland Prep (Aug. 31) in Payson.
All-Region Honorable Mention
In the Mesa-held meet, the Eagles defeated Dobson 2-0 (25-10, 25-11) and Red Mountain 2-0 (25-22, 25-23) on Sept. 7 while falling 0-2 (19-25, 22-25) to Gilbert Williams Field, 0-2 (11-25, 18-25) to Gilbert Perry, 0-2 (22-25, 20-25) to Scottsdale Saguaro, and 0-2 (21-25 twice) to Gilbert on Sept. 6 and 1-2 (23-25, 25-15, 10-15) to Skyline on Sept. 7.
The win was 2-0 (25-19, 25-20) over San Tan Valley Combs on Oct. 5, while the losses were 0-2 (19-25, 24-26) to California Oakland Bishop O’Dowd and 0-2 (19-25, 12-25) to Skyline on Oct. 4 along with 0-2 (16-25, 22-25) to Gilbert North American Leadership on Oct. 5.
During the post-season, the Marcie Lopeman-coached No. 23 Eagles succumbed 2-3 (23-25, 29-27, 11-25, 25-12, 11-15) to No. 10 Florence in the play-in round on Nov. 5.
Overall, Thatcher posted records of 10-22 in matches and 37-56 in sets played.
The 14-member roster included three seniors, seven juniors, three sophomores, and one freshman. Thatcher had seniors Kadie Bingham (2), Maggie Draper (1), and Laci Hull (7); juniors Tyla Bryce (3), Ragan Buhr (8), Presley Cummard (5), Shaylee Hughes (10), Lani Larsen (6), Makenzi Lunt (11), and Kylia Nelson (9); sophomores Matti Gallett (13), Taylor Henrie (15), and Lillie Welker (14); and freshman Jocelyn Lunt (12).
3A South Region Final Standings
Region member final standings as of Oct. 31 were Tucson Pusch Ridge Christian (16-2 seeding, 8-0 region), Safford (13-4, 7-1), Tucson Tanque Verde (12-5, 5-3), Thatcher (7-10, 5-3), Tucson Empire (11-6, 5-3), Tucson Sabino (5-12, 3-5), Tucson Palo Verde Magnet (6-12, 2-6), Tucson Andrada Polytechnic (3-13, 1-7), and Tucson Catalina (0-14, 0-8).
