By Raymundo Frasquillo
CHANDLER – The Marcie Lopeman-coached No. 7 Thatcher Eagles (9-1, 15.3395 rating) visit the No. 15 and 3A Metro Mountain Region Chandler Seton Catholic Sentinels (7-5, 9.5713) on Wednesday, Oct. 7. The non-region contest starts at 6:30 p.m.
Also this week (Oct. 6-10) for 3A South Region members, No. 20 Empire (7-4, 5.8974) hosts 4A No. 18 and Kino Region Sahuarita Walden Grove (7-4, 6.3572) and No. 37 Amphitheater (4-6, minus 7.0754) hosts No. 43 Sabino (1-10, minus 15.4337) on Oct. 7.
3A No. 15 Seton Catholic Prep Sentinels (7-5 seeding, 9.5713 rating)

The Breanna Cannon-coached Seton Catholic Prep Sentinels (9-17 overall, 7-5 seeding, 3-1 region) have seeding wins of 3-1 (25-23, 25-19, 15-25, 25-19) over Show Low on Aug. 27, of 3-0 (25-16, 25-21, 25-23) over Peoria American Leadership – Vistancia on Sept. 3, of 3-0 (25-20, 25-20, 25-21) over Tucson Palo Verde Magnet on Sept. 8, of 3-1 (25-17, 23-25, 25-21, 25-14) over Queen Creek American Leadership – Ironwood on Sept. 10, of 3-0 (25-15, 25-22, 25-18) over American Leadership – Vistancia on Sept. 24, of 3-0 (25-19, 25-16, 25-12) over Holbrook on Sept. 26, and of 3-0 (28-26, 25-22, 25-23) over Lakeside Blue Ridge on Sept. 29, along with losses of 0-3 (18-25, 17-25, 13-25) to Chandler Valley Christian on Sept. 14, 0-3 (18-25, 17-25, 17-25) to Phoenix Northwest Christian on Sept. 16, 2-3 (20-25, 20-25, 25-15, 26-24, 13-25) to Phoenix Horizon Honors on Sept. 18, of 1-3 (25-22, 8-25, 9-25, 20-25) to Gilbert Christian on Sept. 22, and of 2-3 (25-15, 16-25, 25-19, 18-25, 16-18) to Snowflake on Sept. 25.

In addition, Seton Catholic went 1-6 during the 2-day Chandler tourney on Sept. 4-5, and 1-6 during the 2-day Gilbert tourney on Oct. 2-3. The Sentinels defeated Mesa 2-0 (25-21, 25-20) on Sept. 5 and Nevada Henderson Green Valley 2-1 (25-21, 23-25, 15-10) on Oct. 3 while the losses were of 0-2 (15-25, 8-25) to Phoenix Desert Vista, of 0-2 (14-25, 19-25) to Queen Creek Casteel, and of 0-2 (20-25, 17-25) to Mesa Mountain View on Sept. 4, of 1-2 (25-19, 18-25, 11-15) to Queen Creek, of 0-2 (16-25, 15-25) to Queen Creek American Leadership, and of 1-2 (23-25, 25-14, 4-15) to Gilbert on Sept. 5, of 0-2 (19-25, 14-25) to California San Jose Valley Christian, of 0-2 (15-25, 21-25) to Scottsdale Horizon, of 0-2 (12-25, 11-25) to Florida Fort Lauderdale Pine Crest, of 0-2 (22-25, 9-25) to Valley Christian, of 1-2 (20-25, 25-18, 13-15) to Nevada Las Vegas Sierra Vista, and of 0-2 (22-25, 18-25) to California Escondido Classical Academy on Oct. 3.
Seton Catholic lists an 11-member roster of five juniors, three sophomores, and three freshmen. The juniors are Izzy Alexander (18), Olivia Canyon (22), Ava Eickhoff (17), Melania Fit, and Amelia Judson (32); sophomores Daisy Brooks (20), Kate Staggs (6), and Kendall Thompson (3); and freshmen Piper Joncas (21), Sienan Moore (2), and Samantha Sanchez (5).
The Sentinels are competing in the 9-member 3A Metro Mountain Region with the Chandler Valley Christian Trojans, the Gilbert Christian Knights, the Lakeside Blue Ridge Yellow Jackets, the Payson Longhorns, the Peoria American Leadership – Vistancia Defenders, the Phoenix Northwest Christian Crusaders, the Show Low Cougars, and Snowflake Lobos.
3A No. 9 Thatcher Eagles (9-1 seeding, 14.1560 rating)

The Marcie Lopeman-coached Thatcher Eagles (19-8 overall, 9-1 seeding, 3-0 region) have seeding wins of 3-0 (25-12, 25-6, 25-13) over Sabino on Aug. 27, of 3-1 (27-25, 22-25, 25-20, 25-17) over Florence on Sept. 1, of 3-0 (25-20, 25-20, 25-21) over Show Low on Sept. 8, of 3-0 (25-20, 25-16, 25-17) over Coolidge on Sept. 10, of 3-0 (25-22, 25-21, 25-11) over Safford on Sept. 15, of 3-0 (25-11, 25- 9, 25- 13) over Palo Verde Magnet on Sept. 21, of 3-2 (25-21, 12-25, 21-25, 25-19, 15-10) over Empire on Sept. 23, of 3-1 (25-20, 26-24, 23-25, 25-18) over Safford on Sept. 29, and of 3-0 (25-11, 25-11, 25-7) over Amphitheater on Oct. 5 along with a loss of 1-3 (24-26, 25-22, 22-25, 20-25) to Payson on Oct. 1.

In addition, Thatcher went 3-5 during the 2-day, 36-team Mesa Westwood tourney on Sept. 11-12 and 8-3 during the 2-day, 13-team Safford tourney on Oct. 2-3. The Eagles defeated Tempe McClintock 2-1 (24-26, 25-19, 15-13) and Mesa Dobson 2-0 (25-16, 25-21) on Sept. 11 as well as Prescott 2-0 (25-23, 25-15) on Sept. 12, Phoenix Veritas Prep 26-24, Saint David 25-21, San Tan Valley Combs 29-21, Globe 30-9, and Willcox 30-11 on Oct. 2, 2-1 (NA) over Safford and 2-0 (21-19, 21-20) over Safford on Oct. 3. The losses were to Phoenix Desert Vista 0-2 (17-25, 9-25) and Peoria Liberty 0-2 (13-25, 11-25) on Sept. 11 along with Mesa Red Mountain 0-2 (19-25, 14-25), to Scottsdale Desert Mountain 0-2 (21-25, 13-25), and Chandler 0-2 (21-25, 21-25) on Sept. 12, 19-22 to Florence on Oct. 2, and 0-2 (19-21, NA-21) to Payson and 0-2 (17-21 twice) to Payson on Oct. 3.
Thatcher lists a 13-member roster of five seniors, five juniors, and three sophomores. The seniors are Tessa Bryce (1), Marlie Farris (7), Mattilynn Gallett (8), Taylor Henrie (9), and Lillie Welker (14); juniors Jordin Bedford (5), Alli Johnson (11), Jocelyn Lunt (12), Payten Lunt (3), and Brinlee Skousen (10); and sophomores Makayla Cash (15), Rylen Montoya (4), and Charlotte Tysoe (2).
The Eagles are competing in the 9-member 3A South Region with the Safford Bulldogs and Tucson schools: the Amphitheater Panthers, the Andrada Polytechnic Mustangs, the Empire Ravens, the Palo Verde Magnet Titans, the Pusch Ridge Christian Lions, the Sabino Sabercats, and the Tanque Verde Hawks.
3A No. 26 Safford Bulldogs (5-6 seeding, 1.8874 rating)

The Makenna Farr-coached Safford Bulldogs (9-10-2 overall, 5-6 seeding, 1-2 region) have seeding wins of 3-0 over Willcox on Aug. 31, of 3-0 (25-19, 25-14, 25-13) over Pima on Sept. 1, of 3-0 (25-9, 25-11, 25-15) over Apache Junction on Sept. 10, of 3-0 (25-23, 25-22, 25-9) over Sabino on Sept. 21, and of 3-0 over Palo Verde Magnet on Sept. 30 along with losses of 1-3 (25-22, 20-25, 18-25, 23-25) to Benson on Aug. 26, of 0-3 (23-25, 11-25, 12-25) to Gilbert Christian on Sept. 8, of 0-3 (22-25, 21-25, 11-25) to Thatcher on Sept. 15, of 1-3 (14-25, 25-19, 14-25, 13-25) to Pusch Ridge on Sept. 23, 0-3 (22-25, 23-25, 17-25) to Tanque Verde of on Sept. 24, and 1-3 (20-25, 24-26, 25-23, 18-25) to Thatcher on Sept. 29.
In addition, the Bulldogs went 4-4-2 during the 2-day Payson Invitational on Sept. 4-5 and 8-3 during their own 2-day tourney on Oct. 2-3. Safford had wins of 1-0 (25-20) over Fountain Hills, of 1-0 (30-10) over Flagstaff Northland Prep, of 1-0 (26-24) over Joseph City, and of 2-0 (21-5, 17-12) over Queen Creek Benjamin Franklin on Sept. 4, 26-24 over San Tan Valley Combs, 30-11 over Morenci, 30-21 over Phoenix Veritas Prep, and 30-16 over Globe on Oct. 2, and 2-0 (NA) over Florence, 2-0 (21-9, 21-17) over Sierra Vista American Leadership, and 2-0 (21-11, 21-19) over Saint David on Oct. 3 as well as losses of 0-1 (10-30) to Phoenix Northwest Christian and of 0-1 (11-30) to Payson on Sept. 4 and of 0-2 (5-21, 12-17) to Northwest Christian and of 0-1 (24-25) to Phoenix North Valley Christian on Sept. 5, 23-28 to Payson on Oct. 2, and 1-2 () to Thatcher, and 0-2 (19-21, 20-21) to Thatcher on Oct. 3. The Bulldogs tied 1-1 with Lakeside Blue Ridge (16-21, 10-8) on Sept. 4 and with Show Low (9-21, 16-12) on Sept. 5.

Safford lists a 13-member roster of five seniors, five juniors, and three sophomores. The seniors are Jaycee Gable (14), MacKenna Macario (7), Gabriella Moreno (11), Jazzlyn Mortensen (3), and Lanae Shurtz (8); juniors Kassity Anderson (5), Kailana Beck (2), Jaydyn Coy (1), Martina Reyes (4), and Alicia Torres (6); and sophomores Aubri Bonilla (12), Milee Carter (9), and Kalia Cordova (10).
The Bulldogs are competing in the 9-member 3A South Region with the Thatcher Eagles, and Tucson schools: the Amphitheater Panthers, the Andrada Polytechnic Mustangs, the Empire Ravens, the Palo Verde Magnet Titans, the Pusch Ridge Christian Lions, the Sabino Sabercats, and the Tanque Verde Hawks.
3A South Region

The region standings as of Oct. 6 were Thatcher (19-8 overall, 9-1 seeding, 3-0 region), Tucson Pusch Ridge Christian (15-7-1, 7-2, 3-0), Tucson Tanque Verde (24-11, 9-2, 3-0), Vail Empire (11-11, 7-4, 2-1), Safford (9-10-2, 5-6, 1-2), Tucson Amphitheater (6-8, 4-6, 1-2), Tucson Andrada Polytechnic (6-12, 3-5, 1-2), Tucson Sabino (2-19, 1-10, 0-5), and Tucson Palo Verde Magnet (0-16, 0-10, 0-1).
Region pairings to date resulted in wins for Thatcher of 3-0 (25-12, 25-6, 25-13) over Sabino on Aug. 27, of 3-1 (25-20, 26-24, 23-25, 25-18) over Safford on Sept. 29, and of 3-0 (25-11, 25-11, 25-7) over Amphitheater on Oct. 5; Andrada Polytechnic of 3-0 (25-18, 25-16, 25-11) over Sabino on Sept. 10; Empire of 3-0 (27-25, 25-17, 25-17) over Sabino on Sept. 16 and of 3-0 (25-5, 25-18, 25-8) over Amphitheater on Oct. 1; Safford of 3-0 (25-23, 25-22, 25-9) over Sabino on Sept. 21; Pusch Ridge of 3-1 (25-14, 19-25, 25-14, 25-13) over Safford on Sept. 23, of 3-0 (25-12, 25-10, 25-13) over Empire on Sept. 29, and of 3-1(23-25, 25-14, 25-11, 25-10) over Andrada Polytechnic on Oct. 1; Tanque Verde of 3-0 (25-22, 25-23, 25-17) over Safford on Sept. 24, of 3-0 (25-6, 25-13, 25-14) over Andrada Polytechnic on Sept. 28, of 3-0 (25-14, 25-17, 25-8) over Sabino on Sept. 30; and Amphitheater of 3-2 (25-14, 20-25, 25-8, 18-25, 15-8) over Palo Verde Magnet on Sept. 29.
State wide rankings for 3A South Region members as of noon on Oct. 6 were Thatcher (9-1 seeding, 15.3395 rating) No. 7 of 47, Tucson Pusch Ridge Christian (7-2, 15.5752) No. 11, Tucson Tanque Verde (24-11, 9-2, 12.0631) No. 12, Tucson Empire (7-4, 5.8974) No. 20, Safford (5-6, 1.8874) No. 26, Tucson Amphitheater (4-6, minus 7.0754) No. 37, Tucson Andrada Polytechnic (3-5, minus 8.5680) No. 39, Tucson Sabino (1-10, minus 15.4337) No. 43, and Tucson Palo Verde Magnet (0-10, minus 23.8024) No. 46.
Desert Sunset Tournament (Oct. 2-3)
3A Payson Longhorns (10-0)

The 3A Metro Mountain Region Longhorns finished first with a 10-0 record, topping No. 2 Thatcher 2-0 (21-17 twice) in the championship match. Payson faced No. 8 Combs in the first round, No. 4 Veritas Prep in the second round, Thatcher in the winners bracket final, and Thatcher for the title. Payson won 2-0 (NA) over Combs, 2-0 (NA) over Veritas Prep, and 2-0 (21-19, 21-NA) over Thatcher.
Payson earned the top seed for bracket play by going 6-0 on the first day with wins of 30-10 over Globe, 30-23 over Pima, 30-18 over Willcox, 30-11 over Morenci, 28-23 over Safford, and 30-7 over Tombstone.
The Arnold Stonebrook-coached Longhorns left Norma Bellamy Gymnasium with a 35-4-2 overall record.
3A Thatcher Eagles (8-3)

Second seed Thatcher defeated No. 7 Sierra Vista ALA 2-0 (21-19, 21-15) in the first round, No. 3 Safford 2-1 (17-21, 21-19, 21-15) in the winners’ bracket semifinal, and Safford 2-0 (21-19, 21-20) for double-elimination. The losses were twice to Payson, 0-2 (19-21, NA-21) and 0-2 (17-21 twice).
Thatcher fell 19-28 to Florence, and defeated Phoenix Veritas Prep 26-24, Saint David 25-21, San Tan Valley Combs 29-21, Globe 30-9, and Willcox 30-11 on the first day.
The Marcie Lopeman-coached 3A South Region Eagles walked out the door 18-8 overall.
3A Safford Bulldogs (5-3)
Third seed Safford was eliminated 0-2 (19-21, 20-21) by No. 2 Thatcher following wins over No. 7 Sierra Vista ALA of 2-0 (21-9, 21-17) and No. 5 Saint David of 2-0 (21-11, 21-19) in the losers bracket, along with a first-round loss to Thatcher.
Safford defeated Combs 26-24, Morenci 30-11, Phoenix Veritas Prep 30-21, Globe 30-16, and Sierra Vista ALA 26-23, and fell 23-28 to Payson on the first day.
After the lights went out, the Makenna Farr-coached 3A South Region Bulldogs were .500 (9-9-2) on the season.
1A Saint David Tigers (6-4)

Fifth seed Saint David fell 1-2 (21-13, 19-21, 11-15) to No. 4 Phoenix Veritas Prep during the first round and defeated No. 8 Combs 2-0 (21-11, 21-18) and Veritas Prep 2-1 (21-18, 17-21, 15-9) before falling 0-2 (11-21, 19-21) to Safford in the losers’ bracket.
Saint David defeated Tombstone 25-21, Combs 30-17, Globe 30-17, and Florence 322-20 as well as fell 21-25 to Thatcher and Veritas Prep on the first day.
The Breana Tillet-coached 1A South Region Tigers returned to Cochise County with a 22-7 overall record.
2A Veritas Prep Falcons (5-4)
Fourth seed Veritas Prep defeated No. 5 Saint David 2-1 (13-21, 21-19, 15-11) during the bracket first round and fell 0-2 to top seed Payson in the second round. The Falcons were eliminated 1-2 (18-21, 21-17, 9-15) by Saint David in the losers’ bracket.

Veritas Prep went 4-2, with wins of 29-19 over Florence, 25-21 over Saint David, 30-16 over Willcox, and 30-21 over Globe, along with losses of 24-26 to Thatcher and 21-30 to Safford on the first day.
The Sarah Kersey-coached 2A Valley Region Falcons returned to Maricopa County with a 10-11* overall record. (Does not include results of Sept. 25-26 Queen Creek Benjamin Franklin tourney).
2A Sierra Vista ALA Guardians (5-4)
Seventh seed Sierra Vista ALA was ousted 0-2 (19-21, 15-21) by No. 2 Thatcher in the first round, and eliminated 0-2 (9-21, 17-21) by No. 3 Safford after a 2-1 (20-21, 21-19, 15-13) win over No. 6 Florence in the losers’ bracket.
Sierra Vista ALA went 4-2 on the first day, with wins of 25-24 over Morenci, 28-26 over Combs, 29-26 over Tombstone, and 30-20 over Willcox as well as losses of 19-30 to Pima and 23-26 to Safford.
The Joanna Durham-coached 2A Southeast Region Guardians exited Norma Bellamy Gymnasium with a 15-6 overall season record.
3A Florence Gophers (4-4)

Sixth seed Florence fell 0-2 to No. 3 Safford in the first round and 1-2 (21-20, 19-21, 13-15) to No. 7 Sierra Vista ALA in the losers’ bracket.
Florence defeated Thatcher 22-19, Willcox 30-17, Pima 30-18, and Combs 24-23. Florence fell 19-29 to Phoenix Veritas Prep and 20-22 to Saint David.
The Analecia Arbizo-coached 3A East Region Gophers left Graham County with an 8-10 overall record.
4A Combs Coyotes (2-6)
Eighth-seed San Tan Valley Combs fell in two sets to top seed Payson in the first round and in two sets to No. 5 Saint David in the losers bracket first round.
Combs went 2-4 on the first day, with wins of 28-20 over Pima and 30-7 over Morenci, along with losses of 24-26 to Safford, 26-28 to Sierra Vista ALA, 21-29 to Thatcher, and 23-24 to Florence.
The Jessica Overall-coached 4A East Sky Region Coyotes returned to Pinal County 8-21 overall.
2A Willcox Cowgirls (3-6)
The No. 12 seed Cowgirls defeated No. 9 Tombstone 2-0, No. 13 Globe 2-1, and No. 10 Pima 1-0 in round-robin pairings.

Willcox fell 20-31 to Pima, 17-30 to Florence, 18-30 to Payson, 20-30 to Sierra Vista ALA, 16-30 to Phoenix Veritas Prep, and 11-30 to Thatcher during the first day.
The Shaye Klump-coached 2A Southeast Region Cowgirls returned to Cochise County with an 11-13 overall record.
2A Pima Roughriders (5-4)
The 10th seed Roughriders defeated Morenci 2-1 and Tombstone 2-0 before falling to Willcox during Round Robin pairings.
Pima posted wins of 31-20 over Willcox, 30-19 over Sierra Vista ALA, and 30-25 over Tombstone as well as losses of 23-30 to Payson, 20-28 to Combs, and 18-30 to Florence on the first day.
The Ruthie Butler-coached 2A Southeast Region Roughriders went home with a 13-14 overall record.
2A Tombstone Yellow Jackets (3-6)
The ninth seed Yellow Jackets defeated No. 11 Morenci 2-1 (19-21, 21-20, 21-17) and fell 0-2 to No. 12 Willcox and 0-2 to No. 9 Pima during Round Robin pairings.
Tombstone defeated Globe 30-18 and Pima 30-25 as well as fell 20-25 to Saint David, 26-29 to Sierra Vista ALA, 24-25 to Morenci, and 7-30 to Payson on the first day.
The Dan Romero-coached 2A Southeast Region Yellow Jackets returned to Cochise County with a 12-18 overall record.
2A Globe Tigers (1-7)
The No. 13 seed Tigers defeated No. 11 Morenci 2-0 and fell 1-2 (21-7, 13-21, 12-15) to No. 12 Willcox during Round Robin pairings.
Globe succumbed 10-30 to Payson, 18-30 to Tombstone, 16-30 to Safford, 9-30 to Thatcher, 17-30 to Saint David, and 21-30 to Phoenix Veritas Prep on the first day.
The Sandy French-coached 2A East Region Tigers returned to Gila County with an 8-13 overall record.
2A Morenci Wildcats (1-7)
The 11th seed Wildcats fell 1-2 to Pima, 0-2 to Globe, and 1-2 (21-19, 20-21, 17-21) to Tombstone during Round Robin pairings.
Morenci defeated Tombstone 25-24 and fell 24-25 to Sierra Vista ALA, 11-30 to Safford, 11-30 to Payson, and 7-30 to Combs on the first day. The Jasmine Aguinaga-coached 2A Southeast Region Wildcats returned to Greenlee County with a 5-18 overall record.

