Aya Abdeen is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Desert Ridge High School for AZPreps365.com

Desert Ridge High School’s varsity volleyball team took on the Queen Creek Bulldogs (19-12-1) Oct. 20, hoping to break a four-game losing streak on its home court and strengthen its chances of a playoff berth. 

Though teams ranked Nos. 1 through 8 earn automatic bids to the state tournament, teams ranked Nos. 9 through 24 compete in a conference play-in tournament. The top eight finishing teams advance to the 16-team state tournament along with the Nos. 1 through 8 automatic bids.  

Going into the match, the Jaguars were ranked No. 25 in the 6A conference standings – one spot away from a play-in conference spot. They fell to the Bulldogs in three sets 25-18, 25-12, and 25-20, and now have one regular-season game remaining after losing to Highland High School Oct. 24.

Desert Ridge started the game against Queen Creek hot in the first set with a 3-0 lead before Queen Creek came back on a 9-0 run. Later, the Jaguars tied the set, 12 apiece, before falling to the Bulldogs, 25-19. 

In the second set, Desert Ridge struggled to keep up with Queen Creek. It fell behind 20-6 before cutting the Bulldogs’ lead to 10 but still falling short. 

The Jaguars could not keep up with Blaykli Bobik, a 6-foot junior outside hitter.

Jaguars head coach Randi Eaton said Bobik is a “strong player and is somebody that gets out there to look for.”

In the third set, Desert Ridge picked up the tempo as it played with a positive mindset and fought hard against Queen Creek. However, it was swept by the mighty Bulldogs, 25-20, and lost one of its crucial games of the season to stay alive in the playoff race. 

“We missed a lot of serves, and we didn’t show up to play,” said Abby Kilpatrick, a junior right side and middle blocker and team captain for the Jaguars.

They have a tough schedule down the stretch with one game remaining: A home game against the Corona del Sol Aztecs on Oct. 26. The postseason will begin on November 3.

This season’s Jaguars have already surpassed last season’s finish. In the 2021 season, Desert Ridge finished 7-28, winning one of its last 18 games at the end of the season and going 1-9 against 6A Conference teams. The Jaguars had eight graduating seniors – two of them, Madison Moran and Tatum Begay, were team captains. 

The last time the Jaguars had a winning record was the 2019 season, where they were 22-20, led by head coach Anthony Millanes. 

Randi Eaton returned as a head coach for his second stint, after leading the team from 2009-17. 

Desert Ridge began the season with a win over the Basha Bears on Aug. 30. They went on an 8-game losing streak in the Neutral Tournament. Since then, the Jaguars had a season filled with ups and downs with winning streaks and losing streaks. They managed to stay alive in playoff race until the end of the season.

Natalie Lorenzo, a rising star for the team, is the only freshman to make the varsity team. She leads the Jaguars with 3.1 kills per set with 266 kills in the season and 416 receptions. She is also second in digs per set with 2.6 and a total of 222 digs in the season.

Junior Courtney Grant, an outside hitter, led the team in kills per set with 1.7 and digs per set with 2.0.

Senior Amanda Jonovich, an outside hitter, led the team in kills per set with 4.3 and had a hitting percentage of 0.24.