The Sedona Red Rock High School volleyball team made quick work of visiting Wicken-burg High School on Tuesday, Sept. 14, sweeping the Wranglers, 3-0.
“We came out strong and with a lot of energy but started to let up a bit as the match went on, and there wasn’t enough passion it seemed,” longtime Sedona Head Coach John Parks said.
That “passion” Parks speaks of might be because fans in the stands needed a heart monitor to measure the Wranglers’ pulse as Wickenburg seemed disinterested in playing Tuesday night.
Wickenburg was ranked No. 1 in the Arizona Inter-scholastic Association power point polls before Tuesday’s loss but the Wranglers turned in a lethargic effort, surprising not only the Sedona fans in the stands but the team as well.
One fan even shouted, “Are you even trying?” to Wickenburg after a timeout.
To begin the match, the Scorpions were up 11-3 in the first game, but a rally by Wickenburg brought the score to 20-18 before Parks called a much needed timeout.
After the timeout, Sedona found a way to dig deep and get the win, 25-19.
From then on, the Wranglers struggled and Sedona took advantage, winning game two 25-16. After senior Sarah Schlener’s ace serve, the Scorpions won game three 25-6 to seal the match.
For the Scorpions, junior Katie Furlong led the team with 11 kills and seven ace serves while sophomore Brenna Barker had 18 assists, two digs and three ace serves.
Senior Rachel Cook had seven kills and sophomore newcomer Arianna Thode led the Scorpions with four blocks.
Junior Chelsea Strong led the Scorpions with 11 digs.
With the victory, Sedona improves to 4-1 [14-5, tournament play] overall on the season with several matches on the docket over the next two weeks.
The Scorpions were in action again Thursday, Sept. 16, against Camp Verde High School but results were unavailable at press time.
Next up, Sedona will travel south to participate in the Estrella Foothills Invitational which is set to begin Friday, Sept. 17.
After road games with Chino Valley High School and Estrella Foothills High School, Sedona returns home Thursday, Sept. 30, to face Chino Valley.
Coconino Tournament
The Scorpions played some of their best volleyball this season at the Coconino Invitational Tournament this past weekend, earning second place after losing to Flagstaff High School in the championship match.
“I would have to say the girls played with the most passion I’ve ever seen as a coach at Sedona for volleyball. It was truly amazing,” Parks said of his team’s effort Saturday, Sept. 11.
Since tournaments are played in a different format than regular season games, coaches usually just give their record for games won and lost in a particular tournament.
The Scorpions went an amazing 14-5 on Saturday, earning a spot in the title game only to fall short to Flagstaff.
“We were gassed. It was a long day and we just ran out of steam but that doesn’t take away from what we did there,” Parks said.
