Ironwood Ridge sweeps Catalina Foothills 25-16, 25-17, 25-14
September 23, 2014 by Andy Morales, AZPreps365
You would have to go back to October 16, 2012 to find the last time a Southern Arizona team has beaten Ironwood Ridge on their home court - what might be called the "7th Man Gymnasium" named after the Nighthawk student section.
In fact, since 2006, only Catalina Foothills has been able to blank out the noise and overcome the obvious talent on the other side of the net to sweep Ironwood Ridge that night. Coming up big for the Falcons was, then sophomore, Delaney Dunagan with 15 kills.
Aunesty Jantz, who is arguably the best player in Southern Arizona over the last two years, was injured and didn't play that night but she remembers it very well.
"They beat us up my sophomore year," explained Jantz. "They swept us and we all remember that. I was very nervous coming into tonight because this has turned into a rivalry but this is a great atmosphere and a great environment to play in."
Jantz may not have been available two years ago but she was Tuesday night as she recorded a game-high 12 kills to lead the Nighthawks to a decisive 25-16, 25-17, 25-14 sweep.
The environment was electric with Catalina Foothills bringing along their own student section to help combat the home-court advantage enjoyed by the Nighthawks. Cheers began well before the match began and it got louder as it progressed even as it became clear this was Ironwood Ridge's night.
Ironwood Ridge (7-0, 1-0) has a stronghold on the Division II AIA/MaxPreps power rankings with a 2-point advantage over the second-ranking Yuma Kofa team that includes a 4-point advantage on strength of schedule and Catalina Foothills (4-2, 0-1) is currently ranked in the top 10 and should remain in high contention for another playoff berth so, if a team was going to give The Ridge a game it was going to be Catalina Foothills.
The Nighthawks sprinted out to a 4-0 lead in the first set and Catalina Foothills was never able to recover with the margin remaining the same until Ironwood Ridge was able to take control from a 20-15 lead to outscore Catalina Foothills 5-1 the rest of the way for the 25-16 win.
Taking control at the end of the set was a recurring theme. Up only 17-15 in the second set, senior setter Jordan Weatherless put up a block and served three straight aces to lead the Nighthawks to a 21-15 lead and then a 25-17 win.
Ironwood Ridge took complete control of the third set and went on to win it 25-14. Now a senior, Dunagan felt there were several areas that worked against her team this time around.
"We need to work on fewer passing and hitting errors," said Dunagan. "I think we played well at moments but things obviously didn’t go our way tonight but you can't ask for a better place to play than this. This is exactly what we wanted and needed."
Dunagan finished with four kills, Anita Eichenour had 5 and Julia Cravens led the Falcons with 6. Brooke Courtney had 15 digs and Mikayla Miller had 11 assists.
Besides the 12 kills from Jantz, Sarah Gosciminski added 9. Courtney Linaker had 16 digs with Jantz and Gosciminski pitching in 10 each. Weatherless had 29 assists.
Catalina Foothills will host the Lady Falcons Invitational on October 3-4 with Salpointe, Gila Ridge, Cienega, Rincon/University, Bradshaw Mountain, Desert View, Tucson High, Canyon Del Oro, Sahuaro, Marana, Empire, Amphitheater, Sabino and Las Vegas Palo Verde taking part.
Meanwhile, Ironwood Ridge will be heading out to the Goldwater Volleyball Festival this coming weekend along with 31 other teams including Rincon/University. They will head out to California to take part in the Torrey Pines ASICS California Challenge from October 10-11 and then the Chandler NIKE Tournament of Champions the following weekend.
