Safford welcomes Lobos, Trojans this week

Bulldogs dispatch Eagles in three sets

By Raymundo Frasquillo

SAFFORD – The Robert Abalos-coached Safford Bulldogs welcome the Jamie Robinson-coached Snowflake Lobos on Tuesday, Oct. 1. The Oscar Morales-coached Tucson Catalina Trojans enter Norma Bellamy Gymnasium for a region pairing on Thursday, Oct. 3.

The fourth-year Safford head coach is of the mindset that to be the best, you have to play the best. What better test of the Bulldogs if not scheduling the most recent 3-time state finalist? Snowflake was state runners-up in 2021 as well as state champions in 2022 and 2023.

Raymundo Frasquillo Photo/Gila Herald: Jocelyn Lunt (12) sends the ball over the outstretched hands of Safford senior Breanna Arbizo (5) and junior Rhylie Klajda (4). The Thatcher 6-0 freshman evened the set one score at 2-2 with her hit.

This pairing will be the Bulldogs’ sixth meeting with the Lobos under Abalos, thrice in tourney pairings and the third in regular season seeding matches. Snowflake has prevailed in all five previous pairings, 2-0 (25-10, 25-15) in tourney play (Sept. 17, 2021), 2-0 (25-19, 25-21) in tourney play (Sept. 16, 2022) and 3-0 (25-10, 26-24, 25-17) in a regular season seeding match (Oct. 26, 2022), and 2-1 (19-25, 25-18, 15-12) in tourney play (Sept. 15, 2023) and 3-1 (27-29, 25-19, 25-16, 25-19) in a regular season match (Oct. 25).

Snowflake posted a 3-year combined overall record of 106-18, 37-3 (2021), 37-4 (2022), and 32-11 (2023) while Safford finished 67-41-1 overall during the same 3-year span, 18-19 (2021), 22-12 (2022), and 27-10-1 (2023).

Snowflake Lobos

Thus far, Snowflake (6-1 seeding, 0-0 region) has seeding wins of 3-0 (25-9, 25-14, 25-12) over Tuba City (Sept. 3), 3-1 over Blue Ridge (Sept. 17), 3-1 (25-11, 25-18, 19-25, 25-14) over Winslow (Sept. 10), 3-0 over Page (Sept. 24), 3-0 over Show Low (Sept. 25), and 3-1 over Thatcher (Sept. 27). The loss is 0-3 (18-25, 12-25, 14-25) to Gilbert Christian (Aug. 29).

Snowflake is 18-5 in seeding sets played.

*Raymundo Frasquillo Photo/Gila Herald: Area official Sherri Greer blows her whistle and signals a serve.*

Catalina Trojans

To date, Catalina has seeding losses of 1-3 (17-25, 21-25, 25-10, 24-26) to Tucson San Miguel (Sept. 3), 0-3 (5-25, 10-25, 13-25) to Tucson Desert Christian (Sept. 5), 0-3 to Tucson Amphitheater (Sept. 11), 1-3 (25-10, 10-25, 13-25, 10-25) to Tucson Cholla (Sept. 13), 0-3 to Tucson Palo Verde Magnet (Sept. 18), and 0-3 to San Tan Valley San Tan Foothills (Sept. 19).

Catalina is 2-18 in seeding sets played.

Safford Bulldogs

*Raymundo Frasquillo Photo/Gila Herald: Safford sophomore Jazzlyn Mortensen (3) begins her delivery as the lead-off server against Thatcher.*

Through September, Safford has seeding wins in 4-sets (22-25, 25-16, 25-13, 25-22) over Rio Rico (Sept. 3), in 3-sets (25-15, 26-24, 25-23) over Sahuarita (Sept. 4), in 3-sets (25-18, 25-21, 25-15) over Queen Creek American Leadership – Ironwood (Sept. 12), in 3-sets over Palo Verde Magnet (Sept. 16), and in 3-sets (25-20, 25-23, 25-20) over Thatcher (Sept. 24).

The two losses were in 3 sets (23-25, 15-25, 23-25) to Chandler Valley Christian (Sept. 6) and in 4-sets (22-25, 23-25, 25-12, 23-25) to Tucson Canyon del Oro (Sept. 9).

Additionally, the Bulldogs went 4-1 during the 2-day Goodyear Estrella Foothills tourney on Sept. 13-14 and 7-2 during the 2-day Snowflake tourney on Sept. 20-21.

In Goodyear, Safford posted wins of 2-0 (25-21, 25-11) over Tonopah Valley (Sept. 13), 2-0 (25-20, 25-16) over Cottonwood Mingus (Sept. 13), 2-0 (25-17, 25-22) over Buckeye Odyssey Institute (Sept. 13), and 2-1 (12-25, 25-13, 15-7) over Glendale Trivium Prep (Sept. 14). The loss was 0-2 (21-25, 19-25) to Surprise Willow Canyon (Sept. 14).

*Raymundo Frasquillo Photo/Gila Herald: Safford 5-7 sophomore Lanae Shurtz (8) taps the ball past Thatcher defenders, 5-9 Laci Hull (7) and 5-10 Matti Gallett (13) for a point.*

The Snowflake tourney resulted in wins of 2-0 over Lakeside Blue Ridge (Sept. 20), 2-0 over Chinle (Sept. 20), 2-1 over Show Low (Sept. 20), 2-0 (21-15, 21-12) over Eagar Round Valley (Sept. 20), 2-0 (21-16, 21-9) over Phoenix Mountain Pointe (Sept. 21), 2-1 over Show Low (Sept. 21), and 2-1 (18-21, 21-17, 15-10) over Payson (Sept. 21). The losses were 1-2 (21-12, 19-21, 10-15) to Gilbert Mesquite (Sept. 21) and 0-2 (13-21, 16-21) to Mesquite (Sept. 21).

Safford is 39-17 in overall sets played.

The Bulldogs include a roster of one senior, eight juniors, four sophomores, and one freshman. Team members include senior Breanna Arbizo (5); juniors Marina Balistren (11), Kai-lee Cordova (7), Alana Foxworth (14), Jerzi Hawkins (6), Rhylie Klajda (4), Mia Peru (12), Bianca Quintero (9), and Alexis Rope (10); sophomores Payton Abalos (1), Mackenzie Macario (13), Jazzlyn Mortensen (3), and Lanae Shurtz (8); and freshman Jaydyn Coy (2).

3A South Region

Region member standings through Sept. 25 are Tucson Empire (6-2 seeding, 1-0 region), Safford (6-2, 1-0), Tucson Tanque Verde (6-2, 0-0), Tucson Pusch Ridge Christian (5-2, 0-0), Tucson Palo Verde Magnet (4-6, 0-1), Tucson Sabino (2-5, 0-0), Tucson Catalina (0-6, 0-0), Tucson Andrada Polytechnic (2-6, 0-1), and Thatcher (1-6, 0-0).

*Raymundo Frasquillo Photo/Gila Herald: Safford sophomore outside hitter Payton Abalos (1) drills the ball toward the Thatcher defenders.*

Empire is 20-7 in seeding sets played. The Ravens have seeding wins of 3-0 (25-20, 25-15, 25-20) over Benson (Aug. 28), 3-0 (30-28, 25-19, 25-22) over Tanque Verde (Aug. 29), 3-0 (25-22, 25-19, 25-19) over Nogales (Sept. 5), 3-0 (25-13, 25-12, 25-19) over Sierra Vista Buena (Sept. 11), 3-0 (25-15, 25-5, 25-10) over Andrada Polytechnic (Sept. 24), and 3-1 (25-18, 25-22, 18-25, 25-16) over Marana Mountain View (Sept. 25).

Safford is 16-7 in seeding sets played. The Bulldogs have seeding 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 over Palo Verde Magnet (Sept. 16), and 3-0 (25-20, 25-23, 25-20) over Thatcher (Sept. 24). The losses were 0-3 (23-25, 15-25, 23-25) to Chandler Valley Christian (Sept. 6) and 1-3 (22-25, 23-25, 25-12, 23-25) to Tucson Canyon del Oro (Sept. 9).

Tanque Verde is 18-6 in seeding sets played. The Hawks have seeding wins of 3-0 (25-5, 25-5, 25-17) over Tucson Cholla (Aug. 28), 3-0 (25-8, 25-22, 25-14) over Show Low (Sept. 7), 3-0 (25-19, 25-21, 25-9) over Tucson Sahuaro (Sept. 9), 3-0 (25-13, 25-5, 25-12) over Coolidge (Sept. 16), 3-0 (25-12, 25-11, 25-17) over Apache Junction (Sept. 18), and 3-0 (26-24, 15-25, 25-18, 25-20) over Sahuarita (Sept. 19). The losses are 0-3 (28-30, 19-25, 22-25) to Empire (Aug. 29) and 0-3 (23-25, 24-26, 14-25) to Rio Rico (Sept. 12).

*Raymundo Frasquillo Photo/Gila Herald: Thatcher senior libero Maggie Draper (1) tosses the ball up for a serve.*

Pusch Ridge is 15-8 in seeding sets played. The Lions have seeding wins of 3-1 (17-25, 25-14, 25-21, 25-16) over Thatcher (Sept. 10), 3-1 (25-6, 25-5, 25-16) over Buckeye Odyssey Institute (Sept. 11), 3-0 (25-13, 25-18, 28-26) over Florence (Sept. 16), 3-0 (25-16, 25-11, 25-16) over Tucson Flowing Wells (Sept. 18), and 3-0 (25-15, 25-17, 25-8) over Tucson Desert Christian (Sept. 24). The losses are 0-3 (22-25, 17-25, 21-25) to Phoenix Northwest Christian (Sept. 3) and 0-3 (24-26, 23-25, 23-25) to Tucson Salpointe Catholic (Sept. 5).

Palo Verde is 13-18 in seeding sets played. The Titans have a 3-0 (25-19, 25-10, 25-10) win over Tucson Santa Rita (Sept. 3), 3-0 over Cholla (Sept. 4), 3-0 over Tucson San Miguel Catholic (Sept. 9), and 3-0 over Catalina (Sept. 18). The losses are 0-3 to Tucson Saint Augustine Catholic (Aug. 28), 1-3 (10-25, 25-15, 21-25, 15-25) to Coolidge (Sept. 12), 0-3 (9-25, 6-25, 11-24) to Safford (Sept. 16), 0-3 (17-25, 14-25, 12-25) to Desert Christian (Sept. 23), 0-3 (22-25, 14-25, 21-25), and 0-3 to Douglas (Sept. 26).

Sabino is 7-17 in seeding sets played. The Sabercats have a 3-2 (25-17, 25-21, 10-25, 26-24) win over Amphitheater (Sept. 9) and 3-0 (25-15, 25-13, 25-8) over San Miguel (Sept. 24). The losses are 0-3 (10-25, 5-25, 8-25) to Whittman American Leadership – West Foothills (Sept. 5), 0-3 (19-25, 13-25, 12-25) to Rio Rico (Sept. 10), 0-3 (17-25, 21-25, 24-26) to Pueblo (Sept. 5), 0-3 (6-25, 6-25, 6-25) to Gilbert Christian (Sept. 16), and 1-3 (13-25, 25-15, 20-25, 24-26) to Cholla (Sept. 18).

*Raymundo Frasquillo Photo/Gila Herald: Thatcher head coach Marcie Lopeman makes adjustments during a timeout.*

Catalina is 2-18 in seeding sets played. The Trojans have losses of 1-3 (25-17, 25-21, 10-25, 26-24) to San Miguel (Sept. 3), 0-3 (5-25, 10-25, 13-25) to Desert Christian (Sept. 5), 0-3 to Amphitheater (Sept. 11), 1-3 (25-10, 10-25, 13-25, 10-25) to Cholla (Sept. 13), 0-3 to Palo Verde Magnet (Sept. 18), 0-3 to San Tan Foothills (Sept. 19), and 0-3 to Douglas (Sept. 24).

Andrada Polytechnic is 6-20 in seeding sets played. The Mavericks have wins of 3-0 (16-25, 14-25, 13-25) over San Miguel (Aug. 30) and 3-2 (24-26, 25-17, 25-22, 18-25, 15-7) over Cholla (Sept. 3). The losses are 0-3 (19-25, 14-25, 12-25) to Amphitheater (Sept. 5), 0-3 to Saint Augustine (Sept. 10), 0-3 (14-25, 23-25, 12-25) to Eloy Santa Cruz (Sept. 17), 0-3 (11-25, 13-25, 11-25) to Queen Creek American Leadership – Ironwood (Sept. 19), 0-3 (15-25, 5-25, 10-25) to Empire, and 0-3 (9-25, 22-25, 14-25) to San Tan Foothills (Sept. 25).

*Raymundo Frasquillo Photo/Gila Herald: A daunting 5-6 Safford front row of sophomore Jazzlyn Mortensen (3), senior Breanna Arbizo (5), and junior Rhylie Klajda (4) await a serve.*

Thatcher is 3-22 in seeding sets played. The Eagles have a 3-0 (25-12, 25-10, 25-20) win over Amphitheater (Sept. 18). The losses are 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), and 1-3 to Snowflake (Sept. 27).

This week (Sept. 30 – Oct. 5), Pusch Ridge hosts Marana Mountain View on Monday, Sept. 30; Empire visits Pusch Ridge, Safford hosts Snowflake, Tanque Verde hosts Thatcher, Palo Verde Magnet hosts Andrada Polytechnic, Sabino hosts Catalina on Oct. 1; Safford hosts Catalina and Pusch Ridge visits Palo Verde Magnet on Oct. 3; and Tanque Verde and Thatcher will be participating in the 2-day Mesa Dobson tourney on Oct. 4-5.