No. 2 Salpointe beat No. 4 Ironwood Ridge 3-0 Thursday night on the road to remain undefeated in power-ranking matches at 13-0 under first-year head coach Keith Rubio. The Lancers also have a commanding lead in the 4A Kino Region with a 5-0 record. Ironwood Ridge is now 9-3 in ranking matches after dropping both regional games to Salpointe and another at No. 3 Estrella Foothills five weeks ago.

Ashlyn Quiri. (Andy Morales/AZPreps365)

 

The Nighthawks beat No. 5 Mica Mountain in five sets last Thursday on the road after coming back from a 2-1 deficit to take that important match. Mica Mountain (12-2) also lost at Salpointe in five sets on Sept. 24 in a back-and-forth battle, forcing a fifth set where the Lancers prevailed 15-10. Ironwood Ridge showed moments of brilliance against Salpointe Thursday night but the Lancers held firm to control to control the region and their ranking. Only No.1 Flagstaff (13-0) is performing better in the 4A Conference at this point.

The Nighthawks took control of the first with a 16-14 lead after a Lydia Litkenhus to Kallie George connection but the Lancers closed the set out on an 11-3 run to take it 25-19. The run was fueled by three aces in a row from junior libero Adrianna Kynaston. George is a freshman and she came up with an unofficial 13 kills in the match, playing above her grade level in important spots. Likewise, Salpointe sophomore Ashlyn Quiri was a force on the other side of the net and the outside hitter was one of several options for junior setters Caitlin Hurley and Brooklyn Burgle.

The Lancers attack from several spots at the net beyond Quiri with junior Natalie Mobley, senior Belle Russell, junior Kate Mobley and junior Mia Bartfalvi creating a defensive nightmare for opponents. Still, the Nighthawks came back from a 19-8 deficit in the second set to cut the lead down to 24-20 behind the play of senior hitter Emma Klett but Quiri put the set away 25-20 with another kill.

The Nighthawks showed fight again in deciding third set after falling behind 20-13. A kill from senior Carolina Kemper tied the set up at 23-23 but a service error gave the Lancers a match-point and Quiri took advantage of the opportunity again for the 25-23 win.

Ironwood Ridge, coached by Bill Lang, is back in the 4A Conference due to enrollment for the first time since 2006 after taking second place in the 4A Conference in 2004. Salpointe won three 4A titles (2016, 2017 and 2020) under former head coach Heather Moore-Martin. Rubio retired from New Mexico State in 2021 after ten years with the program and Mica Mountain is led by legendary head coach Amy Johnson.

Salpointe hosts 5A No. 43 Desert View (2-11) on Oct. 21, Ironwood Ridge hosts 5A No. 12 Campo Verde (5-8) on Oct. 22 and Mica Mountain hosts 3A No. 36 Sabino (5-9) on Oct. 23.

Kallie George (1) at the net with Kate Mobley (4) and Belle Russell (3). (Andy Morales/AZPresp365)