Maddie Bushman told me she realized she had a fight on her hands when Sabino was down one set to Catalina Foothills.

Catalina Foothills took that first set 25-23 despite being down 11-16 on a mixture of missed blocks and unforced errors.

But Michelle Snyder chose to make her presence known, after a time out by Coach A.J. Malis, and promptly delivered a devastating kill to shake up Sabino. Sabino followed with their own mistakes with a shot into the net and a double hit to bring the score close at 14-16.

Snyder then blocked a Hannah Rebb shot to bring them within one and Brittany Mar completed the comeback with an ace. This action forced John Kramkowski to call timeout.

Bushman followed with her fourth score of the set to briefly take back the lead for Sabino. Another kill by Snyder would later give Catalina Foothills a 19-17 lead but a long serve and a controversial line call would give Sabino a tie at 19.

Bushman would then deliver her own ace and Catalina Foothills would follow that with a double hit to give Sabino a late lead 21-19. The air seemed to be deflated on Catalina Foothills side as the call and the subsequent two points shifted the momentum to Sabino.

It didn’t last long as Rebb sent a shot way long and a rotation error would come at the worst time for Sabino to bring the set back to a tie.

The score would eventually get to 23-23 before Sabino failed to get the ball in and then Leah Woznica would deliver a floater that landed between Sabino’s lines of defense to give her the winning ace.

I asked Malis what he expected out of the match and he told me quite blankly that he wanted a win. It looked for a moment that he would not only get the win but an upset.

Catalina Foothills is too far back in the power ratings to make the playoffs this year while Sabino is fighting to make the top eight. “Power points are beyond us right now,” Malis said. “I voted against the region playoffs this year because no one has ever played their way in (to state) by winning regionals.”

A region playoff would have given Sahuaro, Marana and Catalina Foothills a second chance but the 4A coaches decided to end the event instead opting for a straight shot at power points.

“Even if one of us were to win it we would be seeded 16 against the number one seed.”

5A has kept their region playoff system intact (Tucson defeated Buena 3-1 and Rincon defeated Mountain View 3-1) to prepare for a state tournament atmosphere and to give teams a chance to play in late in the season.

Tucson is sitting at 17 right now and will need to win the 5A regional to make the playoffs. It’s not likely to happen.

I can see both sides of the argument, having had a daughter play at CDO a couple of years ago. I used to think it was a waste of time but then I saw that it gave the teams a chance to get together in one place and showcase their talents and to provide for competition. They were also handed All-Region awards in front of fans and teams.

Besides giving teams a second chance to make the playoffs it guarantees an extra game. What senior wouldn’t want that?

Sabino did take the first set personally and they got on the Bushman bus – or at least her arm.

“She is one of the most physical players in Tucson,” Kramkowski told me after the match. “She has great skills and is a great kid.”

It was evident that there was one main player on the court after the first set despite the efforts placed on Snyder’s shoulders to keep Catalina Foothills in the match.

When I asked Kramkowski about Bushman’s play after the first set he told me they try to spread the offense around early to open it up for her later. I likened it to running the ball in order to open up your passing game in football.

Sabino shot out 3-0 in the second set and eventually pulled out 16-10 and then 20-14. They then coasted to a 25-18 win.

The third set mirrored the second as Sabino went up 5-0 and eventually won 25-18. Bushman recorded six kills and an ace in the set to go up 2-1.

Catalina Foothills showed some fight in the fourth set with shots and kills from Snyder to make it 7-5 early on but Jenna Hartmann helped Bushman out with some kills of her own as Sabino slowly crept up to an 19-6 lead. Bushman would score Sabino’s last three points in dramatic fashion on a block followed by two kills to win the set 25-10 and the match 3-1.

Sabino plays their next match Thursday at Flowing Wells and Catalina Foothills travels to CDO.

Bushman finished with 15 kills and 14 digs; Hartmann collected 10 kills; Rebb had 11 kills and 7 digs; Hoeger had 32 assists and 8 digs.

Snyder finished with 8 kills and 18 digs; Shakayla McEaddy had 12 assists; Mar had 10 digs.

NOTEBOOK:

Former Catalina Foothills and Arizona basketball star Julie Brase-Hairgrove was in attendance as was her mother Jody Brase.

Brase is the athletic director at Catalina Foothills and she is doing a great job as parent complaints about past administrators are far in the past and her teams remain competitive.

I’ve known Brase for 20 years because we both worked together in Amphitheater back then along with

her sister Vicki. She now has grandchildren (from Julie) and they were there also.

That makes Lute Olson a great grandfather. He was there also to watch another family member shine on an athletic court.

Michelle Snyder is another grand daughter and I feel embarrassed for not knowing that before. I talked briefly with the Olson family between sets and Lute looks healthy and relaxed. Having a father who is also ill, I hope nothing but the best for them.

I asked Snyder about her game and she told me she feels pressure to be a leader but she is ready for it. She is getting more confident in her role and will be a major force next year.

Maddie Bushman was named to the US Junior Olympic All-American team over the summer along with Michaela Christiaansen of Ironwood Ridge and Taylor Lane of Amphi High School.

Her club team, Dinamo, finished second at the US Junior Olympic National Championships and she traveled to Russia with her team also.

It was Senior Night and they recognized Brittany Marr, Desiree Scott and Leah Woznica. They do the tunnel during announcements and all the students come down from the stands and the players run through it.

Catalina Foothills softball star Noelle Devlin is also on the team.

The controversial call in the first set reminded me about the importance of officiating in volleyball. One bad call equals a two-point swing. One team gets a point that the other team should have been given. (I think the call was right in this case though). If a team experiences two bad calls in a set then they will probably lose the set.

Volleyball and swimming are the most difficult sports to photograph – try it.