Kris Maglunog took over an unrecognizable Desert Vista girls volleyball program in May.

Two months into the season, the Thunder are playing like a team that just might put another banner in the Storm Center before long.

After going 43-58 over the last three seasons, including 17 straight region losses, Desert Vista enters the last month of the season at 27-7 overall and 3-1 in 6A Central Region play.

The first thing Maglunog noticed was something he needed to foster – not change as some coaches do – entering the season.

"When I met with them the first time I could tell they were a tight-knit group," Maglunog said. "It's a great place to start because they have that unity and then at the first practice you could see there was talent there as well.”

The Thunder are playing at a level that resembles the Desert Vista era that saw the Thunder win more than 30 matches a year and at least make the semifinals under Molly West until 2020.

“Success isn't always measured with victories alone, but we've been able to play at a high level so far,” he said. “We've had some things we need work on, but we're off to a pretty good start."

The offense, controlled by senior setter Emerson Ortiz, is led by two seniors in Kenzie Maldonado and Sydney Singleton with 327 and 236 kills, respectively, with hitting percentages of 27 percent and 19 percent. The offense can also turn to junior Abigail Lara and junior Kamerynn Medlicott with 117 and 115 kills each.

Ortiz leads the team in aces with 57, while Maldonado is second at 54 and junior Piper Garvin is third with 33.

Medlicott has 86 total blocks with 24 solo. Ortiz (47), Lara (42), and Evans (35) also help patrol the net. Garvin has the lead in digs at 235, followed by Ortiz (185) and Maldonado (176).

The turnaround has been sudden, but Maglunog is a proven winner after taking the Horizon Honors boys team to a state title and 2016, while also helping the boys and girls programs at Benjamin Franklin to the postseason before taking over the Thunder.

“A big philosophy of mine is to focus on the non-volleyball things,” he said. “How do we respond when we make errors, how is our body language and how do we interact with each other especially when things aren’t going our way. I am about more than just volleyball as we want them to be good teammates and create a culture that creates really good memories.

“If we do those things well, winning is secondary but also comes easier because we’re playing for each other.”

Wrestling HofF class

The Arizona Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame announced its next class of inductees in advance of the banquet on Nov. 22 at the Marriott Hotel in Phoenix at noon.

This year’s class is Richard Garcia (two-time state champion, coach at several high schools), Joe Corso (Olympian), Chris Goetz (coach at Dysart and Westview), Dave LaMotte (coach at Gilbert, Payson), Sam Portillo (coach at Amphitheater), Richard Sanchez (coach at Sunnyside), Paul Whitson (wrestler, coach, referee) and Henry Cejudo (Maryvale two-time state champion, Olympic gold medalist).

Third-year coach Stevann Brown has seen improvement through seven games after starting the season with four players with varsity experience. (Jason P. Skoda/AzPreps365)

Brown building experience at Gilbert

The Gilbert football program is sitting at 1-6 this season in Stevann Brown’s third year after making the playoffs in his second year.

It’s what can happen when more than 20 seniors leave the program, but it is clear Brown and the coaching staff were still coaching the Tigers hard and preparing each week.

The results aren’t coming in the form of wins against one of 5A’s toughest schedules, but in how the players are responding the struggles.

“It’s just so happens we are playing teams that are really good and they have experience, so it looks like what we are coaching and teaching isn’t transferring, but it is,” Brown said. “We are seeing less and less mistakes on film and our kids are doing the right things, and our coaches are doing the right things. It sounds cliché but that’s a good place to start.”

The Tigers came in with just four players with varsity experience. It will be much higher next year, and a new two-year block might bring a different classification and/or region.

Until then the building and restructuring of the program continues.

“What it has come down to this season is inexperience at the varsity level,” Brown said. “When you field a team, when you have kids who have varsity experience it is going to help. We had four kids coming back whether they started or played special teams we only had four kids.

"Everyone else were JV kids some coming in this year with all of these kids who have never played varsity football, under these lights and a faster game physically and mentally. So, we are continuing catching up to that.”

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