Safford netters bow out to Seton Catholic
By Raymundo Frasquillo
TUBA CITY – The No. 13 Thatcher Eagles (11-3 seeding, 14.3222 rating) head to the Navajo Nation for a first-round matchup against the No. 4 Tuba City Warriors (15-1, 22.1488) on Thursday, Nov. 5. The first-round contest starts at 5 p.m.
Last season, Thatcher fell 1-3 (25-19, 17-25, 11-25, 20-25) to No. 3 Snowflake during the quarterfinals while Tuba City succumbed in three sets (14-25, 14-25, 12-25) to No. 4 Gilbert Christian during the first round.
Thatcher is 31-19 during seeding pairings in three seasons (2024-26) under Marcie Lopeman, going 13-3 during 2026, 11-6 during 2025, and 7-10 during 2024. Meanwhile, Tuba City is 26-6 during two seasons (2025-26), 15-1 for 2026, and 11-5 for 2025.
3A State First Round (Nov. 5)
Seven of nine Metro Mountain Region teams in the top 24 remain for the first round: three remain of the 6-9 from the East Region, three remain of the 4-9 from the South Region, two remain of the 4-9 from the North Region, and two remain of the 3-11 from the West Region.
Top seed Gilbert Christian (17-0 seeding, 45.3814 rating) No. 1 hosts No. 16 Queen Creek American Leadership – Ironwood (12-5, 11.9704) in Game 1, No. 8 Yuma Catholic (16-3, 18.6661) hosts No. 9 Lakeside Blue Ridge (10-4, 18.5049) in Game 2, No. 5 Snowflake (12-5, 21.7517) hosts No. 12 No. 12 Queen Creek Benjamin Franklin (12-5, 14.8164) in Game 3, and No. 4 Tuba City (15-1, 22.1488) hosts No. 13 Thatcher (13-3, 14.3222) in Game 4 during upper bracket pairings.
The lower bracket has No. 3 Payson (13-4, 24.6357) hosting No. 14 No. 14 Chandler Seton Catholic (9-9, 14.1734) in Game 5, No. 6 Phoenix Northwest Christian (12-6, 19.9893) hosts No. 11 Buckeye Odyssey Institute (14-2, 15.4657) in Game 6, No. 7 Kayenta Monument Valley (14-3, 19.8129) hosts No. 10 Tucson Pusch Ridge Christian (10-3, 15.7573) in Game 7, and No. 2 Chandler Valley Christian (13-2, 34.2722) hosts No, No. 15 Tucson Tanque Verde (13-4, 13.2848) in Game 8.
Winners advance to the No. 7 quarterfinals on the Phoenix Mountain Pointe campus, 4201 East Knox Road, Game 1-2 winners at 10 a.m. for Game 9, Game 3-4 winners at noon for Game 10, Game 5-6 winners at 2 p.m. for Game 11, and Game 7-8 winners at 4 p.m. for Game 12.
The semifinals are at 6 p.m. for Game 13 and 8 p.m. for Game 14 on the same day and site, while the championship match is in the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum, 1825 West McDowell Road, on Nov. 14.
Last season, the semifinalists were No. 4 Gilbert Christian, No. 3 Snowflake, No. 2 Northwest Christian, and No. 1 Valley Christian. The four programs have been semifinalists 16 times in the past decade (2016-25) and champions eight of those. The Trojans defeated Northwest Christian in three sets (25-19, 25-20, 25-16) for the 2025 title and Seton Catholic 3-0 (25-17, 25-14, 25-15) for the 2024 title.
3A State Play-In Round (Nov. 3)
All of the higher seeds prevailed during the Play-In Round on Nov. 3.
It was No. 9 Lakeside Blue Ridge (10-4, 18.5049) 3-0 (25-15, 25-11, 25-16) over No. 24 Ganado (9-9, 1.7939), No. 10 Tucson Pusch Ridge Christian (10-3, 15.7573) 3-1 (25-8, 3-25, 25-12, 25-8) No. 23 Florence (8-9, 1.9123), No. 11 Buckeye Odyssey Institute (14-2, 15.4657) 3-0 (25-14, 25-11, 25-14) over No. 22 Chino Valley (11-6, 2.1947), No. 12 Queen Creek Benjamin Franklin (12-5, 14.8164) 3-0 (26-24, 25-19, 25-20) over No. 21 Fort Defiance Window Rock (10-6, 4.3490), No. 13 Thatcher (13-3, 14.3222) 3-0 (25-14, 25-17, 25-22) over No. 20 Queen Creek Heritage Gateway (9-8, 4.4681), No. 14 Chandler Seton Catholic (9-9, 14.1734) 3-0 (25-20, 25-13, 25-22) over No. 19 Safford (11-7, 5.0225), No. 15 Tucson Tanque Verde (13-4, 13.2848) 3-0 (25-18, 25-19, 25-13) over No. 18 Avondale Saint John Paul II Catholic (15-3, 8.9257), and No. 16 Queen Creek American Leadership – Ironwood (12-5, 11.9704) 3-0 (25-21, 25-20, 30-28) over No. 17 Maricopa Heritage (13-4, 10.915).
The Play-In Round winners meet the Top 8 in the 16-team state tourney bracket for the first round on Thursday, Nov. 5.
3A No. 4 Tuba City Warriors (9-8 seeding, 4.4681 rating)
The Kristen Balcerek-coached Tuba City Warriors (27-13-1 overall, 15-1 seeding, 7-1 3A North Region for second of nine) had 15 seeding wins of 3-1 (20-25, 25-16, 25-21, 25-21) over 3A Metro Mountain Region Show Low on Sept. 1, of 3-0 (25-5, 25-11, 25-6) over 3A East Region San Tan Valley San Tan Foothills on Sept. 10, of 3-0 (25-9, 25-8, 25-11) over 2A North Region Flagstaff Northland Prep on Sept. 10, of 3-1 (22-25, 25-20, 25-20, 25-10) over Chinle on Sept. 14, of 3-0 (25-18, 25-18, 25-12) over Page on Sept. 16, of 3-1 (25-22, 17-25, 25-11, 25-19) over Winslow on Sept. 22, of 3-1 (25-11, 25-20, 23-25, 25-19) over Whiteriver Alchesay on Sept. 24, of 3-0 (25-14, 25-17, 25-15) over Holbrook on Sept. 29, of 3-0 (25-14, 25-12, 25-13) over Winslow on Oct. 1, of 3-1 (25-22, 25-18, 23-25, 25-19) over Ganado on Oct. 3, of 3-2 (25-22, 18-25, 25-18, 20-25, 15-5) over Monument Valley on Oct. 7, of 3-1 (19-25, 25-23, 25-218 25-17) over Saint Johns on Oct. 8, of 3-0 (25-20, 25-20, 25-13) over Page on Oct. 13, of 3-0 (25-13, 25-7, 25-14) over Chinle on Oct. 15, and of 3-2 (19-25, 25-22, 21-25, 25-8, 16-14) over Fort Defiance Window Rock on Oct. 20. The seeding loss was of 2-3 (25-23, 14-25, 25-23, 21-25, 9-15) to Monument Valley on Oct. 24.
In addition, Tuba City went 6-6-1 during the 2-day Payson tourney on Sept. 4-5, 2-2 during the Arete Prep tourney on Sept. 12, 2-3 during the 2-day Snowflake tourney on Sept. 18-19, and 1-1 during the North Region tourney. The Warriors had wins of 27-21 over 4A West Valley Region Avondale Agua Fria, of 2-0 (21-12, 15-6) over 2A Central Region Fountain Hills, and of 2-0 (21-17, 12-5) over Page on Sept. 4; of 2-0 (21-8, 21-15) over Ganado, of 2-0 (21-11, 21-7) over Northland Prep, of 2-0 (21-15, 21-15) over 1A Central Region Joseph City, and of 25-18 over Ganado on Sept. 5; of 2-0 (25-9, 25-18) over Fountain Hills and of 2-0 (25-16, 25-14) over Saint Johns on Sept. 12; of 2-0 over 4A Grand Canyon Region Flagstaff Coconino and of 2-1 (21-18, 18-21, 15-13) over Saint Johns on Sept. 18; and of 3-0 (25-9, 25-14, 25-20) over Winslow on Oct. 29.
The tourney losses were of to 4A East Sky Region San Tan Valley Poston Butte, of 22-26 to 3A East Region Queen Creek Benjamin Franklin, of 21-26 to 2A Black Canyon Region Phoenix North Valley Christian, of 16-30 to 5A East Sky Region Campo Verde on Sept. 4; of 0-2 (20-21, 13-21) to Surprise Paradise Honors and of 18-21 to Campo Verde on Sept. 5; and of 0-2 (20-25, 18-25) to 2A Southeast Region Benson and of 0-2 (15-25, 20-25) to 2A Valley Region Phoenix Country Day School on Sept. 12; of 0-2 to Snowflake on Sept. 18; of 0-2 (16-21, 9-21) to Payson and of 0-2 (13-21, 15-21) to Blue Ridge on Sept. 19; and of 0-3 (14-25, 16-25, 20-25) to Monument Valley on Oct. 31. The tie (21-17, 5-12) was with Page on Sept. 4.
Tuba City lists a 15-member roster of four seniors, five juniors, four sophomores, and six freshmen. The juniors are Vanisha Bitsinnie (7), AuRaiya Granger (5), Skyler Granger (9), Arianna Saganisto (18), and Nakota Tallman (6); sophomores Yasmine Ataya (2), Alyssa Blackhat (11), Layla Curtis (1), and Bailey Tallman (4); and freshmen Esperanza Bahe (20), Nia Balcerek (10), Tatum Clitso (3), Chenoa Torres (8), Madison Walker (12), and Aubronna Yellowhair (14).
The Warriors competed in the 9-member 3A North Region with the Chinle Wildcats, the Fort Defiance Window Rock Fighting Scouts, the Ganado Hornets, the Holbrook Roadrunners, the Kayenta Monument Valley Mustangs, the Page Sand Devils, the Whiteriver Alcheasy Falcons, and the Winslow Bulldogs.
3A No. 13 Thatcher Eagles (11-3 seeding, 14.3222 rating)
The Marcie Lopeman-coached Thatcher Eagles (25-12* overall, 13-3 seeding, 7-1 South Region for second of nine) had 11 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, of 3-0 (25-11, 25-11, 25-7) over Amphitheater on Oct. 5, of 3-2 (21-25, 25-22, 25-21, 22-25, 15-13) over Tanque Verde on Oct. 20, of 3-0 over Empire on Oct. 22, of 3-0 (25-20, 25-13, 25-16) over Andrada Polytechnic on Oct. 26, and of 3-0 (25-4, 25-4, 25-7) over Palo Verde Magnet on Oct. 28.
The three seeding losses were of 1-3 (24-26, 25-22, 22-25, 20-25) to Payson on Oct. 1, 0-3 (14-25, 22-25, 19-25) to Chandler Seton Catholic on Oct. 7, and of 2-3 (19-25, 25-23, 16-25, 25-19, 14-16) to Pusch Ridge on Oct. 13.
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, and 1-1 during the 2-day Marana Mountain View tourney on Oct. 16-17. 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, 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, and Tucson Desert View 2-0 (25-11, 25-12) on Oct. 16.
The tourney losses were of 0-2 (17-25, 9-25) to Phoenix Desert Vista and 0-2 (13-25, 11-25) Peoria Liberty on Sept. 11, of 0-2 (19-25, 14-25) to Mesa Red Mountain, of 0-2 (21-25, 13-25, to Scottsdale Desert Mountain, and of 0-2 (21-25, 21-25) to Chandler on Sept. 12, of 19-22 to Florence on Oct. 2, of 0-2 (19-21, NA-21) to Payson, and of 0-2 (17-21 twice) to Payson on Oct. 3, and of 0-2 (18-25, 17-25) to Sahuarita on Oct. 17.
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 competed in the 9-member 3A South Region with the Safford Bulldogs, the Vail Empire Ravens, and Tucson schools: the Amphitheater Panthers, the Andrada Polytechnic Mustangs, the Palo Verde Magnet Titans, the Pusch Ridge Christian Lions, the Sabino Sabercats, and the Tanque Verde Hawks.
3A No. 19 Safford Bulldogs (11-7 seeding, 5.0225 rating)
The Makenna Farr-coached Safford Bulldogs (17-12-2 overall, 11-7 seeding, 5-3 South Region for fourth of nine) had 11 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, of 3-0 over Palo Verde Magnet on Sept. 30, of 3-0 (25-13, 25-12, 25-13) over Amphitheater on Oct. 13, of 3-0 (25-20, 25-12, 25-20) over Empire on Oct. 15, of 3-0 (25-14, 25-12, 25-8) over Palo Verde Magnet on Oct. 21, and of 3-0 (25-9, 25-12, 25-13) over Andrada Polytechnic on Oct. 22
The seven seeding losses were 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, of 0-3 (22-25, 23-25, 17-25) to Tanque Verde on Sept. 24, of 1-3 (20-25, 24-26, 25-23, 18-25) to Thatcher on Sept. 29, and of 0-3 to Show Low on Oct. 19.
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 competed in the 9-member 3A South Region with the Thatcher Eagles, the Vail Empire Ravens, and Tucson schools: the Amphitheater Panthers, the Andrada Polytechnic Mustangs, the Palo Verde Magnet Titans, the Pusch Ridge Christian Lions, the Sabino Sabercats, and the Tanque Verde Hawks.
