Mesa High School wouldn’t necessarily be a team that comes to mind when Arizona volleyball fans think of top state contenders, but the Jackrabbits served notice that they are a team on the rise by finishing 14th at the Nike Tournament of Champions in Tempe on Saturday.

The tournament featured 96 schools from around the country and boasted some of the nation’s best. Seven states were represented and 10 of the top 100 ranked high school teams in the nation were present, according to prepvolleyball.com.

The Arizona State University recreation center was the venue for the tournament, with matches being played in a best-of-three-set format.

The Jackrabbits were 4-3 over the two-day tournament, placing fifth highest among Arizona teams and finishing in sixth place in the gold division (14th overall). The performance was the best result in school history at the Nike TOC.

The finish might have surprised many around the state, but head coach Amy Strawn thinks it helped teach her team a lesson.

“We’re learning that we don’t need to back down from people," Strawn said. "We can battle and beat people that we’re not supposed to beat."

Leading the way for the Jackrabbits were Annie and Kate Hatch. The sisters, whose mother happens to be Coach Strawn, share a captaincy and showcased tremendous chemistry throughout the tournament.

The pair has been the driving force for a Mesa team that is 23-11 and leading the 6A East Valley standings.

The Jackrabbits played some of their best volleyball of the season during the first day of the tournament, going 3-0 and winning their pool despite being the lowest seed in their pool. Two of their victories were completed in three sets.

The marquee win for Mesa came against Oviedo (Fla.) in their second match of the day. Oviedo went on to win the Gold Bracket and finish ninth overall. The loss was just the second of the season for Oviedo.

The match was back-and-forth throughout. The Jackrabbits took the first set 26-24 and then dropped the next set 25-22. In an upset, Mesa pulled out a nail-biting 16-14 third-set victory over the Lions.

The Hatch sisters led the way offensively for Mesa behind Annie's 27 kills and Kate's 33 assists. The dynamic duo was a force to be reckoned with and added either a kill or an assist on 67 of the 74 points scored by the Jackrabbits. Another key contributor was freshman setter Brianna Beck, who provided a spark from the service line, finishing with three aces.

Annie highlighted this victory as her favorite moment of the tournament.

“It was just amazing,” Annie said. “Everyone just contributed so much and it was such a good moment as a team.”

Day one also featured victories over in-state rival Basha and Northgate (Calif.). TheBasha Bears were 12-2 coming into the tournament with one of their two losses coming at the hands of Mesa in a five-set thriller earlier this month. Despite Mesa having beaten them already, the Bears posed a difficult challenge and played at a level very comparable to that in which the Jackrabbits will see come postseason.

Mesa coming out on top of their pool was surprising for everyone, including members of the team.

“Yesterday was really good. We really battled against some teams," Katie Hatch said. "I think we did better than I expected us to do."

Her sister reiterated a similar opinion.

“I was not expecting that. It was super exciting to win (our pool),” Annie said.

On Day Two of the tournament in bracket and championship play, things didn’t go as smoothly for Mesa. The Jackrabbits finished 1-3 beating St. Thomas Aquinas (Fla.) and dropping matches to Horizon (Phoenix), Oviedo and Lone Peak (Utah).

The result may not have been what the team was hoping for after a strong start, but competing against such high-level competition was a valuable experience for the Jackrabbits.

Kate Hatch emphasized the benefits of playing the elite teams in the tournament.

“Those are the kind of teams we are going to see as we go into state,” Kate said. “By playing these higher-level teams I think that will prepare us.”

In their first match of day two, Mesa lost a closely contested contest with Horizon in two sets, 22-25 and 22-25.

Up next, was a familiar foe whom they had upset the day before. Oviedo came to play with a vengeance in the second meeting between the teams and closed out the Jackrabbits in two sets 25-7 and 25-21.

The next match paired the Jackrabbits with St. Thomas Aquinas. It was hard fought by both teams, with Mesa coming up victorious in two tightly contested sets.

In the first set, the Jackrabbits rallied late after giving up seven straight points and falling behind 21-17. Mesa completed the comeback and came up victorious, 25-22, after winning eight of the last nine points. The Jackrabbits carried their momentum into the second set and won 25-21, leading from start to finish.

The Hatch sisters were their usual dominant selves, but the Jackrabbits also got key contributions from two of their first-year varsity players. Junior Roma McEvoy led the way on defense with nine digs and sophomore Ashtyn Michaels added four kills on the offense.

Annie, a vocal leader on the court, had simple advice for her younger teammates who in some cases were playing top-level competition for the first time.

“Stay calm, we got this,” Annie said.

In their last match of the tournament and seventh match in two days, Mesa fell in two sets to Lone Peak, 25-19 and 25-18. It was clear that the Jackrabbits were feeling the fatigue of such a demanding schedule.

Upon conclusion of the tournament, Annie Hatch outlined the differences between playing the elite competition at the NIKE TOC and that of a regular game.

“Your mindset is different,” Annie said. “You have to go 100 percent for every ball. You can’t relax.”

If you looked at a stat sheet from the tournament, it may seem as If Mesa was a two-woman team. The Hatch sisters combined for the large majority of kills and assists, but statistics don’t tell the full story.

Surrounding the sisters was a relatively young team, that was critical to the Jackrabbits' strong play. Strawn was quick to point out these ladies’ importance to the success of the team. 

"Everybody has got jobs to do and they're doing a really good job of doing them,” said Strawn. “When Annie and Kate try and do too much then we don’t do as well.”

Strawn credits the cohesive team effort with having a solid bond off the court. The team grew close over the summer and during practices. The ladies bought into a program that “takes care of each other,” and are reaping the benefits now.

 

Coach Strawn knows the team has much to improve on and highlighted serving more aggressively as a key factor moving forward. The conclusion of the Nike TOC marks the end of a grueling nine-day stretch where the Jackrabbits played 19 games. After getting some well-earned rest, Mesa will be back on the court in a road matchup against Xavier College Prep on Tuesday.