Sedona Red Rock High School’s volleyball game against North Pointe Prep on Tuesday, Oct. 20, was the first home game for the Scorpions in nearly four weeks. In fact, because of fall break and Valley Lutheran having to reschedule a game, it was the first contest of any kind for SRRHS in two weeks. But if there was any rust, it didn’t show on the scoreboard.
The Scorpions cruised over the Falcons, defeating them 25-6, 25-13 and 25-9 for a clean 3-0 sweep. Not only did SRRHS get the result it was looking for, but the players liked the way the team performed, especially in light of the long layoff.
“I think we did really good,” junior Stephanie Medel said. “We kept playing at our level and still worked as a team, as we should be. I think we did really good.”
“We kept it together throughout the whole game, which was great,” fellow junior Karla Gonzalez said. “For not having practice for a whole week because of fall break and games, I think we did really good.”
Not only did the Scorpions cruise to victory in all three sets, but they never trailed in any of them. In fact, excluding the 0-0 score that each set began with, SRRHS played every point with a lead. At the 10-point mark of each set, Sedona had leads of 9-1, 8-2 and 9-1.
The decisive victory had some benefits. One was that it allowed the Scorpions to work on some things that they may not normally have gotten to try in closer games.
“We were able to run more difficult plays that we wouldn’t be able to in a harder game,” junior Sarah Frey said. “And we worked together to make that happen.”
Another benefit of the big leads was that it enabled the Scorpions to empty their bench some. While the normal rotation players of Medel, Gonzalez, Frey, junior Emma Beattie, sophomores Bella Williams and Ella Philo and freshman Rachel Roderick saw most of the playing time, other players like junior Yaritza Landa as well as freshmen Izzy Griffin, Madelyne Stevenson and Jayden Schmidt got to log some time on the floor.
Getting everyone playing time was something that coach Alex Bybee was happy with. She was also pleased with how the team played.
“I think that they played really well,” Bybee said. “I was glad to get them in and I was happy with the way that they played. They were ready to step in. We’re just going to continue to work on getting them further into the game in the coming days.”
The Scorpions were back in action on Saturday, Oct. 24 against Scottsdale Prep. They lost 3-0. Sedona will host Valley Lutheran on Tuesday, Oct. 27.
Following that, three of Sedona’s final four games will be on the road. They’ll travel to take on Desert Heights Prep Academy on Thursday, Oct. 29, North Pointe Prep on Tuesday, Nov. 3 and Valley Lutheran on Thursday, Nov. 5. In between, the Scorpions will host North Valley Christian on Monday, Nov. 2.
All remaining games, both home and road, will begin at 6 p.m.
With the win over North Pointe Prep and the loss to Scotsdale Prep, the Scorpions are 4-6 overall, 3-6 against 2A opponents and 3-4 in 2A Central Region play.
Based on the current rankings, a spot in a play-in game is likely for Sedona.
“I think that we are going to be in good standing once we finish the next five games,” Bybee said after the North Pointe Prep game. “If they continue to play the way that they did tonight, I don’t see any reason that we won’t continue to progress.”
