On senior night, Tuesday, Oct. 20, players for the Sedona Red Rock High volleyball team got caught up in all the hoopla but recovered to defeat a tough Williams High team, 3-1.

Before the match, eight seniors were honored for their services in the last four years.

Sedona team captain Logan Reilly was called last to greet her parents at center court Tuesday, but she certainly isn’t least, known as one of the better players to ever put on a uniform for the Scorpions.

“I’m glad to be a part of the program; I enjoyed my time playing volleyball here for Sedona,” Reilly said.

Other seniors honored were Shelby Brekke, Katie Adams, Jesse Powers, Kayla Parks, Stephanie McIlroy, Kiki Wilson and Jacqueline Strong.

In game one Tuesday, Sedona found out quickly Williams didn’t care it was “their night” as the Vikings took a 7-2 advantage.

Williams continued the solid play while the Scorpions struggled, committing 11 attack errors in the first game.

“It just shows you we can’t take anyone lightly. I think we came out a little cocky and a little jazzed up and we weren’t focused,” Reilly said.

Sedona trailed 13-18 before Head Coach John Parks called his second time-out of the game. The move worked as the Scorpions went on a 7-2 run to tie it at 20-20.

Williams, however, wasn’t going to give this game up, and went on a 5-0 run of their own to take a 1-0 lead in the series by winning game one, 25-20.

Fortunately for Sedona, the crowd continued to cheer loudly for the Scorpions which seemed to help as they settled in and took game two, 25-19.

Up 24-19 with game point on the line, junior Rachel Cook nailed home one of her nine kills on the night to give Sedona the win. Cook had three ace serves as well.

Game three went smoothly for the Scorpions as they took a 7-2 lead of their own which led to a 25-13 win, taking ahold of the series at 2-1.

Game four, of course, was a struggle for both teams as neither wanted to give in.

Sedona took a 13-6 lead but Williams went on a 11-5 run to trail by only one, 18-17.

Adams made it 23-21 with a big kill and did the same to make it 24-22 for game, and match point.

During the volley for game point, sophomore Katie Furlong came out of nowhere to slam home her eighth kill of the night to give Sedona a game four victory, 25-22, and a series win, 3-1.

“It’s our senior year and we want to go out with a bang. I have more passion now than ever for volleyball,” Brekke said after the match.

Standouts included Brekke who had 12 kills and two block assists while Reilly had one kill, three ace serves and one block assist.

Wilson had seven kills, two ace serves and one block assist while junior Chelsea Strong had 20 digs and one ace serve.

Williams is one of the best teams in the 2A conference and should make a solid run at a state title with their 15-2 overall record. Their only two losses of the year came against Sedona.

For the Scorpions, the victory improves their record to 12-2

[10-8, tournament play] overall on the season.

The Scorpions are ranked No. 4 [3A conference] in the state according to the Arizona Interscholastic Association power point polls released Thursday, Oct. 22.

The Scorpions were in action again Thursday when they traveled to Greyhills Academy for their final regular season match of the season. Results were unavailable at press time.

If the Scorpions win the match against Greyhills, there is a good chance Sedona will be the top team in the region based on power points and will host the final four of the 3A-West regional tournament Saturday, Oct. 31.

Sedona may win and still get the No. 2 seed in region depending on how the power points work out.

If Sedona loses, the Scorpions would be No. 2 in the region for sure and would host Chino Valley High on Saturday, Oct. 24, at

4 p.m.

To find out the Sedona-Greyhills final, log on to www.aiaonline.org.

Brian Bergner Jr. can be reached at 282-7795, ext. 131, or e-mail bbergner@larsonnewspapers.com