Holbrook picked up exciting wins over both Blue Ridge and Chinle in the past two outings. Playing on their home court, the Lady Roadrunners outlasted both opponents in the fifth and final games of each volleyball match.
Hosting Blue Ridge last Thursday, the Birds won a close first game 25-23, then dropped the second, 25-15. They came back to win the third 25-20, but fell in the fourth, 25-14, sending the match to a deciding fifth game. Holbrook got the upper hand early in the final game and never looked back, winning the game and the match 15-9.
Teyah Goldtooth played well both at the net and on defense, finishing with 21 kills, 28 digs, 1.5 blocks and four aces. Dena Kinlicheenie set up most of those kills, finishing with 29 assists from her setter position. She also had 10 digs and an ace. Terrilyn Lester finished with 12 kills, two assists and five digs. Shayna Carlson added eight kills, an assist and three digs. Lauren Silversmith served two aces, and had three kills, a half a block, an assist and seven digs. Demi Phaturos had an ace and nine digs. Ashley Attakai added an assist and three digs. Adriana Monroe had an ace, four kills and 18 digs.
Saturday’s match with visiting Chinle was another nail biter for the Holbrook fans. Chinle put the Roadrunners in a hole, winning the first game 25-22. Holbrook bounced back in fine form, taking game two 25-11 and game three 25-13 to seemingly take control of the match. Chinle battled tough, though, winning a hard fought fourth game 26-24. Once again forced to a final game Holbrook got the upper hand early, then held on to win the match 15-12.
Goldtooth again played well with 26 kills, 23 digs, three aces, two assists and 3.5 blocks. Lester also played well with 14 kills, 2.5 blocks, two aces and 15 digs. Monroe finished with three aces, five kills, a half a block and 18 digs. Alex Jeffers-Sample added four assists and four digs. Phaturos helped with a kill and filled her Libero role well with 33 digs. Dishie Kinlicheenie added an assist. Silversmith served two aces, and had three kills and four digs. Carlson added six kills, 2.5 blocks, two assists and two digs. Dena Kinlicheenie set up the majority of the kill shots with a season high 45 assists along with an ace, a kill and 12 digs.
With the two wins the Roadrunners climbed the power point rankings to number two overall in Division III with a perfect 7-0 non-tournament record. With a friendly schedule this week they can expect to be 9-0 when they face a tough stretch in their schedule, including matches against top ranked Monument Valley, and highly ranked Snowflake, Tuba City and Page in the coming weeks. Those matches will tell the Birds where they stand in comparison to other teams in the upper levels of the division, which is where they find themselves heading into this week’s action.
After playing at Hopi on Tuesday, they will host Valley Sanders on Thursday, Oct. 2. On Tuesday, Oct. 7, they will be tested with a match at Snowflake. They back that up with a long road trip to Kayenta on Saturday, Oct. 11, for a shot at top ranked Monument Valley.
