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Holbrook’s volleyball team dropped their final two regular season matches last week, but in the bigger picture those losses really didn’t have much of an impact on their overall state seeding.
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Hosting Blue Ridge on Oct. 29, Holbrook struggled early and really never mounted much of a challenge to the top 10 Yellowjackets. Blue Ridge won the match in three straight games, 25-11, 25-16 and 25-19.
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Thursday’s regular season finale was another story. Show Low entered the contest ranked 12th, while the Roadrunners were 14th. The two teams were close in the standings and the match reflected that. Holbrook won the first game 25-12. Show Low evened the match with a 25-21 win in game two. The Cougars matched that effort in game three to lead two games to one. Holbrook won an exciting fourth game 27-25 forcing a decisive fifth game. In the final game both teams matched the other point for point with neither holding more than a three-point lead. Holbrook trailed by two late, but forged a tie at 15-15. Show Low then eked out a 17-15 win to take the match 3-2.
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While the loss was disappointing for Holbrook, their effort certainly was not. It may have been the best volleyball team in a Holbrook uniform that has played in several years. The girls were all over the place on defense and had numerous kills on offense. Show Low matched them point for point, but the two teams entertained the crowd for sure. If either team can match that effort, they will have a good chance to advance to the state tournament with wins in the play in games that were held on Tuesday.
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Holbrook wrapped up the regular season as the 14th overall seed. They will have played host to 19th ranked Florence on Tuesday evening. These two teams met a couple of weeks ago in the Florence tournament and the Gophers swept the Birds in two games. If Holbrook wants their season to continue they will need to find a way to flip that result.
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The winner of the play-in game will advance to the 3A state tournament, which begins on Friday afternoon. The loser of the play-in game will have their season come to a close. Holbrook wrapped up the regular season with an overall record of 10-7.
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