NORTH
VALLEY – Sandra Day O’Connor needed a pair of wins last
week to stop a rough couple weeks of play and that’s
exactly what coach Jeff Howard received.
The
Eagles swept road matches at Goldwater and Trevor Browne
last week to revive its state playoff hopes. O’Connor
improved to 8‑16 overall and 3‑5 in the
Northwest Region with the two league wins, but more
importantly vaulted back among the leaders in the
5A‑Division II power points.
The
top 16 teams make the state tournament. O’Connor had
fallen out of that parameter when it lost nine of 10
matches between Sept. 9‑20. Last week’s wins,
however, put the Eagles back in at No. 15 as the week
started.
O’Connor
was scheduled to host North Canyon, the 10th‑ranked
5A‑II team, Oct. 3 in a match played past press
time. The Eagles then have three straight road matches–Oct.
5 at Kingman, Oct. 10 at Mountain Ridge, and Oct. 12
at Boulder Creek.
Falcons
in midst of tough region fight
CAVE
CREEK – There is no doubt the best 4A‑Division
II region is the Wells Fargo 2. Cactus Shadows found
that out Sept. 28 when it lost at Notre Dame. Three
of the state’s top four teams in the power point rankings
reside in the Wells Fargo 2.
No.
1 Sunnyslope entered the week undefeated, while Cactus
Shadows’ loss dropped it to third in the rankings that
determine state tournament seeding. Notre Dame’s win
over the Falcons moved it up to fourth.
Cactus
Shadows (15‑8 overall, 2‑1 region) was scheduled
to face off against Sunnyslope for the first time Oct.
3, but results were unavailable at press time. The Falcons
will also play this week at Washington Oct. 5 and in
the Goldwater Tournament over the weekend.
Boulder
Creek vaults to 2nd in Northwest Region
ANTHEM
– Boulder Creek moved into second place in the Northwest
Region with its fourth and fifth straight wins last
week. The Jaguars beat Cibola in a non‑region
match and Kingman on the road to improve to 14‑3
overall and 5‑2 in the region. Mountain Ridge
(8‑0 in region) remained in first place.
The
Jaguars faced two more region matches this week with
a date at Goldwater Oct. 3 (results unavailable at press
time) and a home match with Trevor Browne Oct. 5. Boulder
Creek had already beaten both teams this year.
Northwest
Region Volleyball Standings
Mountain
Ridge* 18‑9, 8‑0
Boulder
Creek (5) 14‑3, 5‑2
Deer
Valley (11) 10‑14, 4‑3
North
Canyon (10) 12‑12, 4‑4
Kingman
(13) 7‑7, 3‑3
Goldwater
(17) 6‑18, 3‑5
O’Connor
(15) 8‑16, 3‑5
Trevor
Browne* 1‑10, 0‑8
(x)
5A‑II power ranking
*
5A‑I team
Wells
Fargo 2 Region Volleyball Standings
Sunnyslope
(1) 24‑0, 3‑0
Cactus
Shadows (3) 15‑8, 2‑1
Notre
Dame (4) 18‑7, 2‑1
Bradshaw
Mtn. (16) 8‑20, 1‑3
Washington
(21) 2‑13, 0‑3
(x)
4A‑II power ranking
Records
as of Oct. 2
