The Sedona Red Rock High School Scorpions girls’ volleyball team dominated in their season opener against the Mayer Wildcats on Wednesday, Aug. 28, winning 3-0 in straight sets.
The first set starred junior Addie Moore and her spectacular serving capabilities, with senior captain Amy Brefeld sitting out most of the set due to illness, a scenario that head coach John Parks said was one of the team’s biggest challenges by interfering with their planned rotation schedule.
However the Scorpions bounced back from the early setback, junior Kelley Arias stepped in and did a phenomenal job of filling in for Brefeld.
“Kelley did a great job stepping in and just staying calm. She always does that. She just plays real calm, real steady, no matter where we put her,” Parks said.
With the help of Arias and Moore, the Scorpions convincingly beat the Wildcats in the first set, taking it 25-14, with the team then lagging during the first part of the second set, down 2-5 early on. This was due to the pressure and nerves the Scorpions were facing.
“Nerves definitely got the best of everyone,” senior Katrina Le said. “We didn’t face our nerves in the second set, but after a pep talk, and cooling down, we were able to calm down and relax our bodies not to get so tense about the game and points.”
The Scorpions went on a 6-0 run taking the lead 8-5. This run helped boost their confidence. But again the Wildcats clawed right back into the game and it was 12-14 in the Wildcats’ favor, prior to Brefeld’s return.
Brefeld’s talent as a setter began to show and she was in sync with her co-captain Sierra Williams, and together they answered every obstacle the Wildcats threw at them.
A four-point run led by the two captains put the Scorpions up 20-18, and they did not stop there, closing the second set in style, with a spike from Moore concluded the set 25- 22 in the Scorpions’ favor.
“You just cut down the unforced errors,” Parks said about the second set. “Talk to the girls about settling down, getting a rhythm going, get some balls in, and just win the rally, and that’s what they did.”
The team took the lead again from the outset in the third set, with a slow start and the Scorpions leading 6-4, then working together as a team to score eight unanswered points leaving the score at 17-6. The Wildcats went on a small run of their own leaving the score at 22-14, however the Scorpions shook this off and took the last three points. They finished the game off in style with an ace from Le which led the Scorpions to a 3-0 win in their season opener.
“It’s always nice to get started on a good note, but, definitely sloppy, definitely over-hyped, but then we closed it out pretty strong, but it was good,” Parks said. “Amy was in and out not feeling well, so I kind of messed up our rotation. So I thought Kelly did a great job of stepping in and just staying calm. She always does that. She just plays real calm, real steady, no matter where we put her. So I am happy with Kelly to be able to step in and do that. And then we had a freshman that started, Xitlalic. I know she was really nervous, but she played great. And then Natalie coming in as a sophomore, and first time playing, she did great too.”
