Raymundo Frasquillo Photo/Gila Herald: The Marcello “Chaci” Arbizo III family was on hand to witness a letter of intent signing on March 11. Standing behind a pen in hand seated Breanna, are from left, sisters Brooklyn (age 12) and Berkley (9), mother Vanessa (Class of 2007), father Marcello “Chaci” III (2001), and brother Boston (15).
Class of 2025 member becomes third signee
By Raymundo Frasquillo
SAFFORD – Class of 2025 member Breanna Arbizo, having wore jersey No. 5 on the Safford varsity volleyball team, signed a national letter of intent to play at the next level on March 11.
Arbizo will be leaving her immediate and Bulldog volleyball family to join the Mesa Community CollegeThunderbirds volleyball family, taking courses in pursuit of a business and real estate degree.
“She struggled as a freshman and had to work extremely hard,” 4-year Safford head coach Robert Abalos (Class of 1995) said. “Hard work and determination earned her four letters.”
Mesa Community College finished fifth in the nation last season, the highest in nine years, and is a successful uprising program.
“We tried to give her the highest scholarship possible,” MCC head coach Jordan Abalos (2014) said adding “We’re excited to have her here. Only two percent get to play at the next level.”
Breanna is the daughter of Vanessa (Class of 2007) and Marcello “Chaci” Arbizo III (2001). She is the third signee to have played in the most recent four seasons, following 2024 grads Mia Abalos and Jaidyn Mortensen who both completed freshmen years at New Mexico State and Central Arizona Community College, respectively.
“I didn’t think it was possible to play at the next level,” Arbizo said.
Safford has won 21 of 24 region pairings during the most recent three seasons, finishing no lower than third of nine teams, and posted a 35-10 overall record in 2024 or the most wins since the 39-8-1 mark of the 2013 season.
Class 3A State Tournament
They may never be there again, but the Safford Bulldogs have practiced and competed in a facility christened Norma Bellamy Gymnasium in 2006 to honor the Arizona and National Hall of Fame 1992 inductee, National High School Athletic Association’s 1998 Hall of Famer, and Arizona Interscholastic Association’s Coach of the Century.
The 2024 volleyball team, along with others since 1995, have been competing in the shadows of what the Norma Bellamy-coached Bulldogs were able to accomplish, 23 state finalist appearances during a span of nearly three decades, 13 consecutive state titles from 1968-80 along with eight more (1982-86, 1988-90), two runner-up finishes (1987, 1992), and a 520-33 overall or 94 percent won-loss record.
Safford has since been state finalists thrice, once under Lori Polanco Walden once (1996) and twice (2008, 2012) under Janene Ward.
The Bulldogs currently have 4-year marks of 98-53-1 overall or 64 percent won-loss, 49-19 seeding, a 27-9 region, and 1-3 during three consecutive state meet qualifying seasons under head coach Robert Abalos.
Ninth ranked Safford (13-4 seeding, 11.0058 rating) succumbed 3-1 (25-22, 25-23, 12-25, 25-15) to the No. 8 Parker Broncs (14-2, 13.1110, 7-1 West Region for first of 10) during the first round. Parker was eliminated 3-0 (25-18, 25-21, 25-16) by the No. 1 Valley Christian Trojans (18-0, 30.5360, 8-2 Central Region for second of five) during the quarterfinals. Valley Christian ousted the No. 5 Snowflake Lobos (15-2, 16.2701, 10-0 East Region for first of six) in four sets (25-17, 25-23, 18-25, 25-18) during the semifinals and topped the No. 7 Chandler Seton Catholic Prep Sentinels (14-4, 14.0140, 10-0 Central Region for first of five) in three sets (25-17, 25-14, 25-15) for the title.
In 2023, No. 5 Safford (16-1, 17.7551, 8-0 South Region for first of nine) eliminated No. 12 Gilbert Christian (10-7, 9.1620, 7-1 South Central Region for second of nine) 3-1 (25-8, 21-25, 25-18, 25-19) during the first round and fell 1-3 (21-25, 22-25, 25-15, 18-25) to the No. 4 Phoenix Northwest Christian Crusaders (16-2, 20.2647, 12-0 North Central Region for first of seven) during the quarterfinals. Northwest Christian was ousted in three sets (22-25, 19-25, 13-25) by No. 1 Valley Christian (17-0, 29.0272, 8-0 South Central Region for first of nine) during the semifinals and the Trojans topped No. 2 Snowflake (16-1, 24.9787, 10-0 East Region for first of six) in four sets (25-21, 16-25, 25-16, 25-22) for the title.
The 2022 state meet had No. 14 Safford (13-4, 9.5682, 6-2 South Region for third of nine) falling in three sets (21-25, 21-25, 15-25) to No. 3 Northwest Christian (16-1, 21.6112, 12-0 North Central Region for first of seven) during the first round. Northwest Christian eliminated No. 11 Tucson Tanque Verde (14-3, 12.2353, 8-0 South Region for first of nine) in three sets (14-25, 21-25, 22-25) during the quarterfinals and No. 2 Valley Christian (15-1, 23.6510, 8-0 South Central Region for first of nine) in three sets (18-25, 24-26, 11-25) during the semifinals before falling in three sets (18-25, 23-25, 29-31) to No. 1 Snowflake (16-1, 24.0532, 10-0 East Region for first of six) during the championship match.
In 2021, No. 24 Safford (7-10, 0.7697, 6-6 South Region for fifth of seven) fell in three sets (6-25, 13-25, 19-25) to the No. 9 Tuba City Warriors (12-5, 10.7171, 8-2 North Region for second of six) during the play-in round. Tuba City bowed out of the state meet in three sets (12-25, 18-25, 19-25) to No. 8 Northwest Christian (11-5, 12.2039, 6-6 North Central Region for first of six) during the first round. Northwest Christian was eliminated in four sets (12-25, 25-22, 22-25, 19-25) by No. 1 Snowflake (17-0, 28.5837, 10-0 East Region for first of six) during the quarterfinals. Snowflake ousted the No. 5 Gilbert North American Leadership Eagles (13-4, 18.4507, 8-2 Metro Region for second of six) in three sets (25-17, 25-10, 25-23) during the semifinalsbefore falling victim in three sets (21-25 thrice) to No. 2 Valley Christian (17-1, 24.9825, 9-1 Metro Region for first of six) during the title match.
Class 3A All-Conference (all-state) – 3
Three Bulldogs have been awarded 3A All-Conference (all-state) honors following the most recent four(2021-24) seasons, each of them when Safford was ranked No. 5 heading into the 2023 state playoffs.
Class of 2024 members Mia Abalos and Jaidyn Mortensen were listed on the first and second teams, respectively, and Class of 2027 member Payton Abalos was named honorable mention.
Class 3A All-Region – 31
A total of 17 Bulldogs received 31 all-region honors during the most recent four seasons. There have been five on the first team, four on the second team, and 22 honorable mention.
First team selections were Breanna Arbizo (Class of 2025) and Payton Abalos for the 2024 season along with Mia Abalos, Jaidyn Mortensen, and Payton Abalos for the 2023 season.
The second team included Kai-lee Cordova (2026) and Jazzlyn Cordova (2027) for the 2024 season, Breanna Arbizo for the 2023 season, and Mia Abalos for the 2022 season.
Honorable Mention listed Rhylie Klajda (2026) and Alexis Rope (2026) for the 2024 season; Kai-lee Cordova, Jerzi Hawkins (2026), and Alexis Rope for the 2023 season; Breanna Arbizo, Jaidyn Espinoza (2024), Rene Holcomb (2023), Marley Jurado (2025), Paige Perea (2023), and Hannah Schade (2026) for the 2022 season; and Mia Abalos, Brianna Camarena (2023), Tatym Hawkins (2022), Rene Holcomb, Emma Jarvis (2023), Jaidyn Mortensen, Paige Perea, Izabelle Quitero (2022), and Ashlyn Schilling (2022).
In addition, the 2024 region offense player of the year in Payton Abalos, the 2023 region player of the year in Mia Abalos, and the 2023 region coach of the year in Robert Abalos were bestowed on the Bulldogs by opposing region member head coaches.
