The Lady Wildcats ended the regular season on a down note, losing both matches before the 1A Central tournament, then fell to Ash Fork in the first round.
Playing in rival Mogollon on Monday evening, the Wildcats struggled early, losing the first two games, 25-17 and 25-19, then played better in game three, though they still lost 25-23.
Despite the three-set loss, Tori Beatty finished with 12 kills to lead the team. Kynlee Miller added 5; Julianna Fraley and Jackie Richards had 3 each.
Shenoa Skidmore led in defensive digs with 19. Miller added 10 digs along with 12 assists.
Hosting Williams on Wednesday night the Wildcats suffered a tough four-set loss. They won game one 25-18 but dropped the next three highly competitive games: 22-25, 22-25 and 25-27.
Their first-round region tournament game was early Friday morning at Ash Fork, where they fell to the Spartans in three games 1-2.
Joseph City will hope to turn things around when they play in the 1A State tournament beginning on Tuesday evening. The Wildcats are the No. 11 seed in the bracket and will travel to face sixth-seeded Patagonia in a first-round matchup. With a win, they would advance to see either No. 3 unbeaten Rock Point or No. 14 Williams.
Joseph City enters the state tournament with a 10-7 regular-season record. Patagonia went 14-3 through the regular season.
