MV, Tuba looking to advance in 3A state playoffs
Special to the Times | Reginald Chee
Tuba City freshman Layla Curtis (1) spikes the ball on Monument Valley defender Peyton Begay during the 3A North Region tournament on Saturday, Nov. 1 at Tuba City High School. MV and Tuba play Saturday in the first round of the AIA 3A state tournament at Millennium High School in Goodyear, Ariz.
WINDOW ROCK
After Tuesday night’s play-in games, the Arizona Interscholastic Association is shifting the 3A volleyball playoffs to Millennium High School in Goodyear, Arizona on Saturday for the first and second round games.
The semifinals will be played at Phoenix Mountain Pointe High School on Thursday, Oct. 13 with the finals set for Saturday, Oct. 15 at Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix at 12:15 p.m.
The Monument Valley Mustangs and the Tuba City Lady Warriors are the lone area teams left in the 3A bracket.
The Mustangs earned the No. 5 seed in the 16-team state bracket as they will take on No. 12 Tanque Verde, a team that beat Window Rock in Tuesday’s play-in game, at 1 p.m.
“We have played them before years back in the state tournament, so knowing they are from the south region we know that they’re going to move the ball a little bit faster,” MV coach Rennell Gilmore said of the 13-3 Tanque Verde. “They’re going to have faster play, but I think we’ll be able to keep up with them because during the season we played a lot of the teams down in the Valley, so that gave us enough preparation to play with them.”
At 15-2 overall, the longtime MV coach was content with the No. 5 seed as she expects the state tournament to be very competitive.
“Every year the state tournament gets more competitive, so we do our best to keep ourselves in the loop by traveling to some of the bigger tournaments,” she said. “We keep ourselves in tune with what’s happening because obviously those (regular season) tournaments are prep time for us to see what we’re up against as we get into the state tournament.”
Tuba City (11-5) received the No. 13 seed as the Warriors plays No. 4 seed Gilbert Christian (14-4) at 3 p.m. The MV-Tanque Verde survivor and the Tuba-Gilbert Christian winner will play at 7 p.m. in the state quarterfinals on Saturday.
In Tuesday’s play-in game, the Warriors secured their spot in the state tournament by getting past Parker in four sets (25-14, 23-25, 25-17, 26-24) at Tuba City High School.
“Parker was a good team,” Tuba City coach Kristen Balcerek said. “They definitely made us work for the win, but I feel like the girls did a really good job of staying together as a team and working hard together and making sure that they push each other to get the job done.”
The first-year Tuba coach said she’s “super happy” that they get to play in the next round of the playoffs.
“I’m just really proud of the girls for getting this far,” she said. “I know we’re a pretty young team, so the fact that they could do this is real big testament to how hard they work and how much they want to win and how much they want to continue to advance.”
As for Gilbert Christian, Balcerek has scouted the Lady Knights and they look to be a formidable opponent.
“They run a fast offense and they hit hard and they’re tall but at the end of the day I always tell me girls it’s about who wants it more and who’s willing to work hard for the win,” Balcerek said. “Anybody can beat anybody at this at this stage of the season. In postseason, you always hear the underdog story, so I really feel that my girls have an opportunity and I keep telling them that.
“They have just as much of an opportunity as they do to win the game,” she added, “so we just have to be tough, be aggressive, play smart and work hard together.”
Get instant access to this story by purchasing one of our many e-edition subscriptions HERE at our Navajo Times Store.
Highway 264,
I-40, WB @ Winslow