Window Rock falls to Pusch Ridge in four sets

Posted by Quentin Jodie | Nov 2, 2023 | Volleyball |

FORT DEFIANCE – The Window Rock Lady Scouts fell into early trouble in the first three sets on Tuesday night in the Arizona Interscholastic Association’s Play-In game.

The ninth-seeded Scouts managed to steal one of those sets, but No. 24 seed Tucson Pusch Ridge Academy Lady Lions walked away with a four-set win at the Bee Hółdzil Fighting Scouts Events Center in Fort Defiance.
The set scores were 24-26, 25-15, 25-22 and 28-26 in favor of Pusch Ridge.

“It’s not the outcome we wanted,” first-year Window Rock coach Ashley Mitchell said. “We just put ourselves in a hole and we couldn’t dig out of it.”

Window Rock trailed 23-17 in the opening set, but they put away three kills and an ace to surprise the Lions with a 26-24 win.

Window Rock sophomore outside hitter Kourtney Bitselley closed out the set with her third kill while senior middle hitters Bre’ James and Melicia Nelson had one each in that 11-to-3 point swing.

“I just told them that they needed to believe in themselves and play like they usually do,” Mitchell said. “I felt like we were playing too careful in the first set, but then they finally relaxed, and they started to hit the way we usually do.”

Despite ending the opening set with a late surge, the Scouts could not get anything going to start the second and third sets.

Pusch Ridge opened the second with a 5-0 lead behind a pair of big swings from senior Kayla Henninger, who finished with a game-best 20 kills.

Window Rock closed within 10-7 but the Lions finished off the set with 12 winners for a 25-15 win.

In the third, the Scouts trailed 22-14 and they closed that gap down to 23-22 with Nelson serving five straight points over the net.

Pusch Ridge ended that rally with a kill from junior outside hitter Estelle Fetsis and she then capped the set with a service ace for a 25-22 win.

Unlike the previous three sets, things were looking up for the Mitchell-coached team with Window Rock leading 8-2 to start the fourth.

Behind Henninger’s five kills, the Lions tied the match at 20-all before the game was halted for 10 minutes as a handful of Window Rock fans got ejected for protesting some of the referee’s calls.

Despite getting three kills from junior Devae Willie, the Scouts could not extend the match as Henninger put down her 20th kill for a 28-26 win.

“Obviously, she’s their main hitter,” Mitchell said of Henninger. “She was a lot taller than us, but we could have read her differently and get a block on her.

“The girls couldn’t get there in time,” she added.

Pusch Ridge had a 45 to 31 advantage with kills with Nelson leading Window Rock with a dozen kills while Willie chipped in seven.

Window Rock finished the season at 19-13 overall and Mitchell will be losing six seniors to graduation including three starters.

“I’m proud of my girls,” Mitchell said. “They improved and they accomplished a lot this season. We were ranked No. 9 in the state, and we finished second in our conference.”