From left at the net: Freshman Makenzie Ford, senior Taylor Meyers and junior Aki Bukmister team up to block a spike attempt from Poston Butte High School during their match on Oct. 1. Photo by Adam Wolfe

The Maricopa High School volleyball team’s hopes to make the Arizona Interscholastic Association Division III State Volleyball Tournament have diminished after two consecutive losses to lower ranking teams.

The Rams came into October ranked 26th in the state, according to Maxpreps.com. Since the top 32 teams will move on to the state playoffs, they were still in good shape. However, after losses to Phoenix Country Day School and Poston Butte High School over the last two weeks, Maricopa has dropped to 42nd in the AIA Power Rankings.

“We started off with a bang,” MHS volleyball head coach Lashieka Holley said. “They came out fighting and for whatever reason they didn’t finish. That’s been our problem this season. We just don’t know how to finish at the end of the day.”

The Rams have played well against the better teams on their schedule so far, but they seem to struggle with teams they should be beating. Their loss to the 50th-ranked Poston Butte Broncos will be a tough hurdle to overcome.

“We absolutely have to pull some upsets,” Holley said. “Mark (Cisterna) and I were talking about it a couple weeks ago. We have some on the schedule that we can still pull off.”

Upsets will be the key for Maricopa to gain enough ground in the rankings to make the playoffs for the first time since the 1980s. Fortunately for the Rams, all six of their remaining opponents are ranked above them in the state standings. Their final opponents include top ranked Chandler Preparatory Academy and eighth ranked Tempe Preparatory Academy.

“It’s still doable,” Holley said. “With our girls, the way they play, if they show up and play how they were playing three weeks ago when we were playing Florence we’ll be fine. I have no worries.”

MHS volleyball remaining schedule
Oct. 6 –  at Veritas Preparatory Academy (#24 in AIA Power Rankings)
Oct. 15 – Chandler Preparatory Academy (#1 in AIA Power Rankings)
Oct. 20 – at Fountain Hills High School (#13 in AIA Power Rankings)
Oct. 22 – at Gila Ridge High School (#37 in AIA Power Rankings)
Oct. 27 – at Tempe Preparatory Academy (#8 in AIA Power Rankings)
Oct. 29 – Apache Junction High School (#41 in AIA Power Rankings)

Adam Wolfe
Adam Wolfe
http://inmaricopa.com
Adam was born in New Haven, Connecticut, but spent the majority of his young life in Lakeside, Arizona. After graduating from Blue Ridge High School, he earned his bachelor’s degree in journalism from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University. He has been working in the field of journalism since 2010. Adam has worked in a wide range of fields including professional sports and international media relations. He has also been a breaking news reporter, sports columnist, government reporter and community reporter. He spent a year in Denver, Colorado before coming to Maricopa in 2015. In his spare time, he will often be found enjoying the great outdoors. If he isn’t hiking or fishing, he is likely hopelessly cheering on his Arizona sports teams. Adam was born in New Haven, Connecticut, but spent the majority of his young life in Lakeside, Arizona. After graduating from Blue Ridge High School, he earned his bachelor’s degree in journalism from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University. He has been working in the field of journalism since 2010. Adam has worked in a wide range of fields including professional sports and international media relations. He has also been a breaking news reporter, sports columnist, government reporter and community reporter. He spent a year in Denver, Colorado before coming to Maricopa in 2015. In his spare time, he will often be found enjoying the great outdoors. If he isn’t hiking or fishing, he is likely hopelessly cheering on his Arizona sports teams. Adam was born in New Haven, Connecticut, but spent the majority of his young life in Lakeside, Arizona. After graduating from Blue Ridge High School, he earned his bachelor’s degree in journalism from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University. He has been working in the field of journalism since 2010. Adam has worked in a wide range of fields including professional sports and international media relations. He has also been a breaking news reporter, sports columnist, government reporter and community reporter. He spent a year in Denver, Colorado before coming to Maricopa in 2015. In his spare time, he will often be found enjoying the great outdoors. If he isn’t hiking or fishing, he is likely hopelessly cheering on his Arizona sports teams.
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