Rams drop back-to-back matches

One night after losing to Higley High School in straight sets, the Maricopa High School girls’ volleyball team dropped another match in straight sets to Coronado High School Thursday night at home.

Final set scores in the match were 25-16, 25-19, and 25-18. The Rams fall to 1-3 in the young season.

Most of the first set was close against Coronado, with the Rams jumping out to an early lead behind the strong serving of senior setter Tabitha Hoctor and a strong early performace by sophomore Madalina Cutajar, who scored or assisted on 4 early points for Maricopa. But after falling behind 7-3, Coronado was able to quickly recover and even the set at 7.

The teams then proceeded to exchange scores until the set was knotted up 14-14. From that point, the Rams were not able to mount much in the way of offense, as the Dons rattled off scoring runs of 4 points, 5 points, and 2 points to round out the match. One of the remaining points scored by the Rams came on the strength of a screening penalty called against the Dons.

“I kept saying to the girls at each break that we weren’t making big mistakes; that we were making a lot of little mistakes at bad times,” Maricopa Head Coach Paul Olson said after the game. “It’s easy to be focused when you have a lead. The girls are still learning to stay focused when they are playing from behind.”

The second set of the night began much like the first. Only this set found the Rams dropping an early lead to Coronado, 1-3. However, keyed by the strong outside hitting of junior Beth Liddel, the Rams were able to take an early set lead. But Coronado was able to find their way back into the set due to a couple of unforced errors by the Rams.

With the set knotted at 8-8, the Rams got a sideout thanks to a serve into the net by Coronado. After giving away a point by going into the net, junior Julia Dickerson, was able to score 3 straight points behind powerful spikes and a service ace. But the Rams gave the lead right back due to hitting errors and strong serving by the Dons.

The score again remained tight as the teams exchanged points. But with the set tied at 18 apiece, the offense for the Rams again went cold, allowing the Dons to finish the set with a 7-1 run.

After the intermission, the Rams returned to take an early final set lead 4-2. Unfortunately, it would be the last lead of the night for the Rams. Throughout the set, the Dons would mount mini-runs, slowly stretching their lead. Trailing 14-22, the Rams tried to mount one final comeback, with Dickerson and sophomore Cheyenne Anderson combining for 3 straight points. But ultimately they would fall to the Dons 28-18 in the set.

“We had a lot of nice plays out there tonight,” Olson said. “We had some good passes and swung the ball well. We just have to work on doing that consistently.”

Olson also stressed that he feels his team can still have a good season. “We have some incredible athletes with terrific abilities, and I believe we can play with anyone in this division,” he said.

Next up for the Rams is a weekend tournament in Florence. “This is going to give us a good chance for the girls to see how much they’ve improved against familiar competition,” Olson said. He is hoping to use the tournament as a way to get his team playing more sharply.

Photo by David Vargas