A bee invasion is never a good omen, especially during a volleyball game.
Swarms of bees closed the front entrance to the Clarkdale-Jerome School gymnasium Saturday, Oct. 24.
Nevertheless, they continued to infiltrate it until officials in the Verde Valley League volleyball tournament championship were kicking their corpses off the court.
The buzz wasn’t good for the host Mingus Rams either, who fell four points short of repeating their league title in a tiebreaker with Big Park Community School — 17-25, 25-16, 11-15.
“We played not to lose instead of win,” said Lynda Chavez, Clarkdale’s athletic director and head volleyball coach. “Our leaders out there kind of had a glazed look. They were worried about making mistakes.”
The win ended the Coyotes’ season, as they will not be returning to Clarkdale to compete Saturday, Oct. 31, in the Small Schools State Volleyball Tournament.
West Sedona School, the third-place team, will instead play with Clarkdale and four other teams for the chance to win State. Big Park downed the Wildcats in straight sets, 25-21 and 25-20, to advance to the championship.
Clarkdale advanced to the championship with a 15-1 tiebreaker to defeat Camp Verde Middle School earlier on Oct. 24. The Mingus Rams had opened the tournament Friday, Oct. 23, with a win in straight sets over Beaver Creek School, 25-15, 25-10.
The strong service game of Olivia Gordon, who would be named Most Valuable Setter of the tournament, got Clarkdale off to a 4-1 start in the championship. But a defensive miscommunication between her and fellow eighth-grader Felicia Bueno let a volley drop and gave Big Park the Game 1 lead back, 5-4.
Later, a Bueno kill would return the lead to Clarkdale, 14-10. Another miscommunication, though — this time in the back row — allowed Big Park to take the lead for good in the midst of an 8-0 run by the Coyotes.
For the full story, please see the Wednesday, Oct. 28, issue of the Cottonwood Journal Extra.
