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7th Grade: The seventh-grade Jr. Lady Cats won back-to-back matches this past week, including at San Carlos (2 – 1; 25 – 14, 25 – 19, 4 – 15) and at Miami (2 – 1; 19 – 25, 25 – 5, 15 – 13).
In the win against San Carlos, the team had a 73 percent serve percentage, highlighted by Meiyah Stacy’s four aces and two more by Ashiya Varley. Brina Morales, Arina Munoz, Felicity Ramirez, Amariz Ochoa, and Jocelyn Ruiz each had one.
Both Munoz and Varley showed improvement in the Jr. Cats’ passing game, which is still a work-in-progress, according to head coach Stacy Johnson.
Against Miami, Varley had two aces and Ruiz another, while Morales, Stacy and Mia Rivera performed well in the passing game.
8th Grade: The eighth-grade Jr. Lady Cats split two matches this past week, losing at San Carlos (2 – 1; 19 – 25, 25 – 15. 15 – 17) before defeating Miami (2 – 1; 25 – 17, 14 – 25, 15 – 12).
“We served well, we moved more on each play, and we had less mistakes on our passing game,” head coach Stacy Johnson told the Copper Basin News in an email. “We were more aggressive on making hits instead of free balls on the third touch, but unfortunately we were unable to walk away with a win. We finally played more like a team.”
Emma Stuart had three aces and Chelsea Boyd-Flores another in the three-set defeat against San Carlos. Indigo Patterson and Chasity Kelley starred in the improving passing game.
Against Miami, Elora Foster had a team-high two aces with Stuart and Kelley each adding another. Kacy Molar and Boyd-Flores each had one kill in the three-set win while Marrisa Barragan played well in the passing game.
Andrew Luberda began writing for Copper Area News Publishers (CANP) in February 2013 after working 15 years in Healthcare Financial Management. Andy covers sports for 11 high schools. His stories are published in Copper Basin News, San Manuel Miner and Superior Sun, in addition to the San Tan Valley Daily PRSS and CopperArea websites. Additionally, he has written human interest stories and business profiles. In May 2012, he earned an AAS in Sports Management at Central Arizona College before graduating with a BS in Communication from Arizona State University in 2014. He and his wife, Kelli, have three sons – AJ, Kyle, and Kade.
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