Saturday, Sept. 17, the only thing that could stop the Scorpions was more, bigger Scorpions.
Sedona Red Rock High School had won its first nine varsity volleyball matches before succumbing to the taller, deeper Scorpions of Desert Edge High School, 25-20, 25-16, in the semifinals of the Wolves Classic.
“They had some really big blockers that [were] a challenge for us,” said Scorpions head coach John Parks. “They’re a big 5A [Conference] school with 2,000 kids.
“I thought we did a good job of getting them out of their system, but we didn’t do a good job of executing some opportunities. They made it tough for us to run anything, even when they were struggling to get the ball over.”
SRRHS [10-1], a two-time Wolves Classic champ, would rebound, however, to finish third at the Classic for the second time in three seasons.
“We played a lot of different teams, with a lot of different styles [and] weapons,” Parks said. “The girls did a good job of adapting to things and finding ways to win.”
Although the Scorpions would blow away opening opponent Odyssey Institute, from Buckeye, 25-6, it was a slow start, Parks said.
“We had to come back and win that one,” he said after the first of three opening-game wins by 25-22 scores. “We just did not look good to start.”
But once the Scorpions started to roll, not Mohave High School, of Bullhead City, Chandler Preparatory Academy, nor Florence High School — their first opponent Saturday, Sept. 17 — could stop them.
“If I felt like I needed a bigger blocker or a certain type of offense, I went to certain combinations,” Parks said. “I think everybody is doing a great job with what their role is on the team.”
In the third-place game, the Scorpions rallied from losing just their sixth individual game of the fall to beat previously undefeated Chandler Prep for the second time in two days.
“They’ve got a great setter [and] weapons all over the place,” Parks said. “They kind of gave us a barometer of where we’re at.”
Where the Scorpions will be at, if they can handle Anthem Preparatory Academy and early-season victim Chino Valley High School at home this week, is ranked alongside Chandler Prep among the top five teams in the 2A Conference — and the team to beat when Central Region play begins Tuesday, Sept. 27.
For all Scorpions volleyball results from the Wolves Classic tournament, please see the Wednesday, Sept. 20, issue of the Sedona Red Rock News.
