After not winning a set in her first two matches, new Camp Verde High School head coach Britney Armstrong beat four teams in two days to finish fourth Saturday, Sept. 10, at the Spartan Classic.
“Overall, the ladies did a fantastic job over the weekend,” Armstrong said. “None of the ladies play year-round or club volleyball, so for them to already be playing at the level they’re at is not only exciting but pretty incredible.”
Armstrong, a volunteer coach under Dan Gagnon before taking over for him after two seasons, opened play with two wins over Shonto and Seligman high schools before falling, in 25-9 straight sets, to host and tournament champion Ash Fork High School.
Although CVHS would go on to win the tiebreaker of its fourth match Friday, Sept. 9, over Hopi High School, 15-6, Shonto took its revenge in the tournament third-place game, 25-16, 25-22.
“We ended up switching up our 6-2 offense and ran a 5-1 with senior setter, Maddie Johnson,” Armstrong said. “Her serving almost brought us back from a 10-point deficit to take the second match against Shonto.”
Johnson, Armstrong added, is “a level-headed and consistent setter who gives it all she’s got” heading into her 2A Conference Central Region opener Thursday, Sept. 22.
But she was not the Cowboys’ tournament most valuable player. That was senior outside hitter — and co-captain, with Johnson — Tiauna Day, whose swing is “very strong” and did “a great job of moving her hits around,” Armstrong said.
“Tiauna was recently switched … from middle hitter and has done [an] amazing job,” she added. “Maddie and Tiauna are most definitely our leaders on the team.
“Both of these young ladies are exceptionally hard workers and don’t let anything get in their way, especially a bad attitude. They uplift their teammates and have a strong presence on the court.”
Another consistent hitter during the Cowboys’ fourth win, 25-22 and 25-21, over Joseph City High School, was senior Shelby Ritzenthaler, who led the team in blocks.
Junior and California transfer Chaeli Hoehn provided the main back line support in the libero position as CVHS would go on to fall, 25-12 and 25-15, to Williams High School prior to the third-place match.
“[I] was very impressed with her ability to master it so swiftly,” Armstrong said. “She is quick and is already learning how to anticipate where the ball is going, which are two very important skills to possess as a libero.”
Junior defensive specialist Grace Moore exceeded the expectations of both Armstrong and junior varsity coach Susan Holm, whose daughter, Bennett, showcased her jump serve in the tournament as a true freshman.
“Coach Holm and I are trying to instill a fighting heart in them and a desire to not give up, no matter how hard the challenge,” Armstrong said. “We are working on learning how to use our mistakes as a way to drive us harder and make us better rather than get upset [with] ourselves.”
Sophomore outside hitters Carlee Oesterreich and Sara Jewell have a talent for a deep, floating serve, Armstrong added.
Both coaches’ main struggle has been getting the team to play more offense than defense by getting control of the volleyball back immediately and not allowing teams to run away with multiple points off mistakes in the serve-receive game.
“All of the varsity girls keep journals in which they write down goals for each game, then follow up on how they did to reach that goal during the game,” Armstrong said. “Coach Susan and I are quick to get on the girls with positive reconstruction in order to put a quick stop to bad habits, and we are fortunate to have a group of girls who are eager to learn and apply what we coach them to do.
“My goals for this season are to bring a whole new level to Cowboys volleyball, build relationships and get girls excited and proud to be part of the program.”
For the full Camp Verde High School volleyball schedule, please see the Wednesday, Sept. 14, issues of the Camp Verde Journal and Cottonwood Journal Extra.
