Rock Point advances to 1A semis
Navajo Times | Cyrus Norcross Rock Point Lady Cougar Arianne Begay (10) prepares to spike the ball against the Cicero Prep Centurions on Nov. 5 during the Arizona 1A state volleyball tournament held at Coronado High School. The Cougars defeated the Centurions in straight sets.
PHOENIX
It has been a day of highs and lows on the opening day of the Arizona 1A Conference volleyball tournament on Friday.
Three rez teams made it to state for this division; St. Michaels, Red Mesa and Rock Point, all three making the 16-team field.
The top-seeded Rock Point Lady Cougars started off in the morning playing against Immaculate Heart High, sweeping the team away in three sets.
Following them was Red Mesa and they played Lincoln Prep Academy. It was an intense game with Red Mesa, the five seed, winning the first set, then Lincoln Prep Academy taking the second before Red Mesa struck back and trumped the Lady Lightnings in the following two sets.
Navajo Times | Cyrus Norcross
The fans of the Rock Point Lady Cougars cheer on the volleyball team after the top-seeded Cougars defeated Cicero Prep in three sets on Nov. 5. Rock Point will play the Mogollon Mustangs in the 1A state semifinals at 10 a.m. on Saturday.
The 15th seed St. Michael Lady Cardinals, however, were knocked out in the first round. They started out strong against Joseph City in the first set, but fell behind not long after and lost all three sets to the Lady Wildcats.
Joseph City would later eliminate Red Mesa in an upset. Red Mesa was caught off guard by the team’s ferocity. They rallied towards the end of the game but ultimately they lost all three sets to sixth-seeded Wildcats.
Rock Point was the only team to advance to the semifinals on Saturday. They’re the favorites to win the division, but the competition is keeping them on their toes.
In the quarterfinals, they won in straight sets against Cicero Prep but in all three sets the Lady Centurions were on Rock Point’s heels throughout the game.
Despite the close call, Rock Point’s coach Kyle Arthur feels confident in the team as they edge closer to the championships.
“It feels like a different journey from back in 2019,” Arthur said. “This is the same gym where it was the first time our school has gotten to the Final Four. We done it again and now we’re ready to go all the way, we’re hungry. We have unfinished business.”
Highway 264,
I-40, WB @ Winslow