Haylie Scott is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Dobson High School for AZPreps365.com. 

MESA – Another tough loss for the Dobson High School’s boys beach volleyball team in their match versus Westwood High School on both teams’ Senior Night. 

The Mustangs could not bounce back against the Warriors, losing all five sets. The highlight of the night was the match between the ones pairing, which featured seniors Derek Wells and Mustafa Amini. 

Pair Wells and Amini rallied well against seniors Easton Davis and Silas Bowlby, but could not handle their serves and hard hits. Head coach Brett Travis gave credit to his players for improving in areas they had struggled in. 

“Our blocks have been getting better, so that was really nice to see that we were challenging them more on our blocking,” Travis said.  

In the first set, the match started off close, with both teams unable to control the ball. Westwood was unable to control their power on their spike attempts, and Dobson struggled to place the ball well, which resulted in both pairs hitting the ball out of bounds. Despite Dobson’s efforts, 21-8 was the final score of the first set. 

Westwood’s head coach Sara Wright spoke about her player’s performances in Wednesday's match. 

“There were a few games where the scores maybe didn’t show it, but, you know, we didn’t play our very best, but I’m proud of the performance they gave us,” Wright said. 

Westwood continued their dominance in the second set, winning 21-12. Dobson showed great hustle throughout the match, but unfortunately could not control the ball. 

At match point, Westwood decided to serve a skyball, when the player hits the ball as high as they can. Resulting in the ball looking like it was going to fall far out of bounds, but Amini wanted to go out with a good rally, so he decided to hit the ball regardless. The match ended after Wells could not control Amini’s pass, due to the skyball coming in at a great force.

 Staying in good spirits despite the loss, Wells complimented Amini and the growth he has made this season. 

“This man definitely progressed, like, greatly. He only joined this program like two months ago and he increased his skills by so much,” Wells said. “I’m so proud of him.”  

The teams both held their Senior Night ceremonies, as it was the last game of their regular season. Dobson was unable to hold their senior night at their last home game, since the game was forfeited.

Both coaches echoed how senior night affected the environment, as well as the player’s performances. 

Wright mentioned how senior night added both positives and negatives to her player’s performance. Adding that her players were more nervous than they typically would be in a match, as there were more family and friends there. 

Travis felt Senior Night only added positives to his players’ performance. 

“It made them more enthusiastic. They went out there and they looked really focused and they were playing really well,” Travis said. “I think we were just outmatched today.”

Due to Dobson’s 2-11 record they did not make the playoffs, making this their last match of the season. Westwood, who is currently ranked sixth in the state, is preparing for the playoffs, after finishing the season 12-3.