With a berth in the Division III state tournament on the line for Barry Goldwater High School, the Bulldogs overwhelmed Mingus Union High School with 39 kills over four games Thursday, Oct. 29.
With the 15-25, 18-25, 25-17, 19-25 loss, the Marauders [3-14] ended their season with three straight losses to Division III, Section VII opponents seeded in the state volleyball tournament Thursday, Nov. 12, at the Prescott Valley Events Center.
“We had a lot of really talented girls who played hard,” head coach Loraine Roethler said. “I was hopeful, but the last teams we played were some of the best schools in the state for volleyball, historically.”
Even though Roethler is going to miss libero Tori Fanning, setter Kaylee Gordon and defensive specialist Ailyn Perez “a lot,” the rookie coach was encouraged by a team that improved by two wins over the previous fall even though it had never played together before.
“We were finally playing well together toward the end of the season,” she said. “That’s our tendency: The girls are a great end-of-game team. They don’t give up.”
So she was pleasantly surprised when MUHS got its first sectional victory Oct. 8 at home over North Canyon High School, 25-20, 21-25, 25-22 and 25-14.
“I knew the girls had the ability to,” she said. “They were aware our season was winding down, and they started coming together the second [and] third game. They get a rhythm going, and they just get all fired up.”
But even though MUHS got through to win a game at Goldwater, the previous week of three shutouts Oct. 20 through 27 killed the momentum of the North Canyon victory.
That is why Roethler wants to use offseason open gyms and summer camps with Bradshaw Mountain High School to strengthen team defense.
For the full story and more color photos, please see the Wednesday, Nov. 4, issue of the Cottonwood Journal Extra.
