2010 Girls Volleyball Preview

Michaela Christiaansen leads the preseason All-America list for Ironwood Ridge

1A

St. David was the South top seed and they lost in four sets to eventual champion Valley Lutheran in the semifinals. Academy of Tucson was the two seed and they lost to North top seed Joseph City in three sets in the second round.

Green Fields was the three seed from the South and they upset Salome in the first round before falling to state runner up Veritas in the second round. Bowie/San Simon was the third seed from the East and they lost in the first round.

ST. DAVID: Kaydee McWhorter and Jessica Mayberry have graduated. Tarryn Lee and Cassidy McWhorter return.

ACADEMY OF TUCSON: Jessica Wilcox graduated but Cheryl Montague returns for her senior year.

GREEN FIELDS: Jessica van Zijll and Sophie Ward are now seniors. Delaney Gould and Mariah Chapin have graduated.

ST. AUGUSTINE: Angelica Alderete and Clare Healy are seniors and Mariela Encinas is only a sophomore.

PATAGONIA: Traci Swift and Alexa Quiroga are seniors.

TANQUE VERDE: Katie Feemster and Talia Voutsas will be key for the Hawks.

Sabino's Maddie Bushman returns as one of the best in Arizona

2A

Thatcher was the second seed and made it all the way to the championship game where they lost to top seed Valley Christian. Pusch Ridge was the 11 seed and they took 6 seed Morenci to five sets before losing in the second round.

San Manuel was the 13 seed and were upset by Valley Lutheran in the first round. Willcox was the 14 seed and lost to Northwest Christian in the second round.

Baboquivari was the 15 seed and they lost to Thatcher in the second round.

THATCHER: Player of the Year Rachel Orr returns for her senior year but she will have to play without Chelcy Motes. Rebeka Barney returns also.

PUSCH RIDGE: The top three players, Cheyenne Link, Kaylyn Grammater and Cortney Beadle have graduated. There will be a handful of seniors, including setter Kaitlin Kirschner.

SAN MANUEL: Victoria Castillo and Brittney LeGrand are seniors but Teisha Renteria has graduated.

WILLCOX: Nikki Dunlap is only a junior and Shelby Harguess is a senior. This team will be moving up this year.

BENSON: Lost all-star Sarah Kading to graduation and it will be a senior dominated team this fall.

BABOQUIVARI: Only lost two seniors. This will be a team that could cause teams problems.

DESERT CHRISTIAN: Callie Bailey and Alexandra Vavala are seniors.

Jamee Swan of Marana

3A

Safford was the three seed and they were upset by Tuba City in the second round in four sets. Empire was the 13 seed and they lost to Snowflake in the first round.

SAFFORD: Player of the Year Shaysea Alba has graduated as did Bea Villalba, Chantel Debruler, Kelsey Claridge and Whitney Fisher. Adalyn Lines and Shelby Leachet are seniors. Not clear what the rebuilding plans are for this powerhouse.

EMPIRE: Captain Kendra Hall is a senior as is Megan Dorris. Empire improves over last year.

SANTA CRUZ: 3-12 last season.

4A-I

Sabino was the power last year with a 6 seed going into the state tournament. They took Prescott to four sets in the second round. Cienega was right behind Sabino as the 7 seed but they were swept by state runner-up Cactus Shadows in the second round also.

Canyon del Oro had the same kind of luck, having to play the top seed and eventual champion Sunnyslope in the second round as an 8 seed. Sunnyslope won convincingly in three sets.

Sahuaro was the 15 seed and gave Cactus Shadows fits in the first round, taking them to four sets before losing.

SABINO: Amber Moreno graduated but the Sabercats have a mini All-Star team coming back. Hannah Rebb and Taylor Tertel are only juniors and 4A-I Player of the Year Maddie Bushman comes back for her senior year. They will be the team to beat.

CIENEGA: Unlike Sabino, Cienega was hit hard by graduation. Jacquie Cason, Zoe Calhoun and Tiana Fox have all graduated. Cason is at UTEP and Calhoun is at Hendrix College in Arkansas.

In all, the Bobcats lost six players to graduation from a team that beat Sabino. They will have to find new leaders.

CDO: Kayla Henry can play college softball or volleyball. Who else will be on the court with her will be the main question for the Dorados. Setter Micaela Furest-Cataldo has graduated and their best setter, senior Rachel Gerard, will be concentrating on her track and field skills this fall.

MARANA: Lindsay Honea graduated but senior Chelsey Meade and junior Jamee Swan return to help the team rebuild. ” Chelsey has improved so much over the past two years and is ready to lead a very young team through a very tough region. She has come throughout the summer and has shown the younger kids what to expect and how to play hard,” head coach Diane Swan told me.

She added, ” She (Jamee) runs middle and outside as a hitter and blocks very well. She does continue to improve in passing and also sets some when we need her. This will be an interesting year for her since she broke her ankle last year and missed most of the season.”

FLOWING WELLS: Laurel Karten graduated but All-Star Kristin Byers returns as does junior Elizabeth Mata.

CATALINA FOOTHILLS: Michelle Snyder is a senior and will join Shakayla McEaddy.

4A-II

Catalina was the 2 seed and was upset by eventual champion Seton Catholic in the semifinals in three sets. Amphitheater was the 5 seed and found themselves down two sets against 12 seed Arcadia in the first round before coming back to win in five. They then upset Greenway but lost to top seed Cactus in the other semifinal match.

Sahuarita was the 10 seed and they lost to Notre dame early and Cholla lost to Greenway in the first round.

CATALINA: All-Stars Liz Graham and Emily Graham have graduated but Courtney Pitts is only a junior. A very young team.

AMPHI: Lost Player of the Year Erin Bradley and captain Iyonna Zortman to graduation. Taylor Lane is a senior and Kerry Lane is a sophomore. Who will be the new leader?

SAHUARITA: Haleigh Householder is on her way to Eastern Arizona but Kaylee Rakowski returns for her senior year.

CHOLLA: Eight players graduated including setter Sandra Casillas.

SANTA RITA: Second team All-Star Katie Rudolphi is only a junior.

PALO VERDE: Vanessa Acosta is a senior and hopes to be a first team selection again.

DOUGLAS: Linalica Campbell and Erika Tapia have graduated but Michelle Chavez returns for one more year.

Salpointe's Haley Howell

5A-I

Salpointe was the lone Division team to make the playoffs. As a 10 seed, the Lancers upset Mountain Ridge in the first round but then lost to 2 seed Gilbert in straight sets.

SALPOINTE: Zanna Sarama and Kathryn Amerson are gone. Haley Howell will only be a sophomore. She will be the next big thing for the Lancers and she will have Catie Coyle by her side.

TUCSON: First team member Alexis Ammerman will be a senior as will Allison Rosas. Nalani Barnes (Southern Oregon), Stephanie Schutt (Widener), Czarina Schutt (Pima) and Julie Kriesen (Cochise) have moved on. It might be a tough year for the Badgers.

BUENA: All-Stars Megan Haymore and Brianna MacLellan have graduated. Senior setter Kessa Rottwieler will be the new leader for the Colts.

5A-II

Top seed Ironwood Ridge had a tough second round match against O’Connor (5 sets) and then lost to 5 seed and eventual state champion Horizon in 5 sets in the semifinals.

Rincon came in as a 13 seed and beat 4 Fairfax in straight sets before falling to Horizon in the second round.

RIDGE: Michaela Christiaansen. One of only five Arizonans to make the American Volleyball Coaches Association watch list. The list includes Kristin Byers (Flowing Wells) and Catie Coyle (Salpointe). Christiaansen will be going Austin Peay.

Briana Hughes (Concordia), Autumn Sanford and Jessica Hall have graduated. Senior Morgan Eaton will join Christiaansen for one more shot.

RINCON: Alyssa Mort is now at Occidental but Kelsey Utter and Regina Aquino are now leaders on a senior dominated team.

SUNNYSIDE: Desaray Akins is now a senior.

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