Mingus Union High School volleyball made it out of the frying pan Aug. 30, but the Marauders may be back in the nether fires of their region by the beginning of their only tournament.
The Marauders’ season opener, home opener, 4A Conference opener, Grand Canyon Region opener and first game under new head coach Chelsea Chavez all took place Aug. 30 against Bradshaw Mountain High School.
If the Marauders can’t turn around a 3-2 loss with a win Tuesday, Sept. 13, at Flagstaff High School, Chavez’s varsity may already be 0-2 and digging its way out of the bottom of the region prior to the Wolves Classic on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 15 and 16.
The west Phoenix tournament, held at Estrella Foothills High School, also represents an opportunity for the Marauders to surpass last season’s three-win total under former head coach Loraine Roethler.
After starting out one set in the hole Sept. 7, MUHS made its first step toward that goal with a four-set win at Dysart High School.
The Marauders rallied for a 3-1 victory over the Demons after losing the first game, 25-20. Aided by 22 total Dysart errors, MUHS came back for a 25-20 win of its own after putting away the Demons 25-16 and 25-13 in the middle sets.
The win was the first for Chavez, who did not return phone calls or text messages for comment on this story.
Chavez’s team bookended that win Sept. 6 and 8 with home shutout losses at the hands of Saguaro and Shadow Mountain high schools.
Chavez, the third MUHS head volleyball coach in three years, inherits seven seniors from last season’s team plus junior Madi Backus, who had 18 kills in her first two years of varsity play.
The tallest member of the Marauders is 5-foot, 8-inch senior middle blocker Quin Thompson.
Thompson, who had 11 aces last season, looks to return to her old blocking form of her sophomore year, when she led the team with 39.
Thompson’s 25 kills came in support of returning captain Kiana Kreiner. The senior outside hitter led the team with 45 last season.
Senior Morgan Mabery anchors the back line of the MUHS defense, coming off a season in which she assisted on 34 kills. Defensive specialist and libero Auli Hanks, with 90 career digs in her two years on varsity, will be key in the back as well.
For the full Mingus Union High School volleyball schedule, please see the Wednesday, Sept. 14, issues of the Camp Verde Journal and Cottonwood Journal Extra.
