The Lady Lobos were pushed to the limit by Blue Ridge in their regular volleyball season finale, but a 3-2 win over the Yellowjackets left Snowflake unbeaten and in the top spot for the upcoming state tournament. Snowflake finished undefeated at 17-0 in regular season matches. Northwest Christian was the only other Division III team to go without a loss. The Lady Crusaders will be the second overall seed in the bracket.
As the top seed Snowflake will play either No. 9 Pusch Ridge or No. 24 Chino Valley in the first official round of the state tournament this weekend at Camelback High School. The top eight seeds all received byes and will play the winners of the eight play-in games slated Tuesday night at the site of the higher seeds.
The Lobos had to come from behind in their regular season finale last Thursday night to keep that unbeaten streak alive. The visiting Lady Yellowjackets, who head to the state tourney as the fourth overall seed with a 14-3 record, won the second and third games, then pushed the Lobos to a 24-24 tie in game four before Snowflake prevailed 26-24, tying the match at 2-2. The Lobos won the fifth game 15-12 to retain the top overall spot.
Erin Willis led the way at the net with 27 kills. Chandler Johnson added 11. Johnson also led the team in aces with four. Willis and Lauren Hunt each had three blocks in the win. Makayla Ramage led four players in double figure digs with 38. Johnson had 25, Jaylee Powers had 18 and Willis added 10. Katlyn Papa and Powers tied in assists with 21 apiece.
Snowflake defeated Show Low two days prior to the Blue Ridge match, taking care of the Lady Cougars in four games, 25-11, 25-17, 21-25 and 25-6.
The Lobos opening round state game will begin at 3 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 3. With a win they would play in the quarterfinals at 7 o’clock that night. The semifinal match is slated for 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 4, and the title match follows at 7 p.m.
