A theme of the Mingus volleyball season has been that while the Marauders show that they can compete with just about any opponent, they lack the consistency to win most games. Unfortunately for the Marauders, that recurred on Saturday, Oct. 31, against Lee Williams.
It took the Volunteers some time to get going in the first set but they were strong enough and posted a 25-19 win to go up 1-0. It was all Lee Williams from there as the Volunteers took the second set 25-13 and the third 25-16 to close out the 3-0 win.
“I think that it got a little jumbled,” Mingus sophomore Shacee Backus said. “Everyone was confused and out of place for a minute and we lost our energy. But once we were able to reel it back in and have fun, we did a lot better.”
The turning point of the match came roughly halfway through the first set. Mingus and Lee Williams were relatively
even in the early going with neither team opening up a lead of more than three points. The Marauders led 13-10 when the Volunteers got hot, scoring six straight points to go up 16-13 and led by two points or more for the remainder of the set.
The second and third sets were much different, with Lee Williams opening up leads of 9-1 and 8-2 and never looking back.
When asked what changed after the early part of the first set, Mingus coach Hunter Tibbs said, “Not much; they just got in a groove,” adding that, “We fought really hard in the first set. I love seeing that. We’re still a little behind on fundamentals. Just getting to the right spot is huge for us. It’s a new rotation for them. They should know it. They should be ready to go. But overall I thought they played fine. They were a lot more aggressive.”
The loss dropped the Marauders to 2-10 overall and 1-10 in the 4A Grand Canyon Region.
Many of the struggles are a product of having a young team. Mingus has only three seniors on the roster. Tibbs hopes that the young Marauders will continue to improve on their fundamentals. He also wants to see a more tenacious team, specifically pointing out that a ball shouldn’t hit the floor against them without players going for it.
Freshman Makela Martinez agrees, and said that she feels things could improve with a better mental outlook, especially when things aren’t going well in a given game. This is something the coach has been helping them with.
“Hunter has helped us out a lot,” Martinez said. “Especially with helping our mental state and having the right mentality. He put it in all of our heads that we do good if we’re confident and just go out and play.”
The Marauders will finish their season with a pair of home games. They’ll host Winslow on Tuesday, Nov. 3, and Moon Valley on Wednesday, Nov. 4. Both games will begin at 6 p.m.
While the Marauders will field a team with a lot of familiar faces in 2021, three players that won’t return are setter Sadie Backus, outside hitter Shelby Link and middle blocker Chayce Doerksen. As seniors, the games against Winslow and Moon Valley will be their last in a Mingus volleyball uniform.
Tibbs expressed a great deal of admiration and appreciation for the leadership that Backus, Link and Doerksen showed, which was especially helpful for him in his first year coaching the varsity team.
“They’re amazing,” Tibbs said of the seniors. “I love and appreciate all three of them. It’s been a privilege and an honor to work with all three of them. They’ve meant a great deal to me and they’ve done a really good job leading this team as I’ve stepped in this first year. I have a lot of respect for each one as an individual and a team leader.”
