After a week
off for Easter Break, Xavier Prep beach volleyball coach Tim McHale wasn’t
completely sure what he was going to get from his team when it played host to
Phoenix Arcadia on Monday (April 9).
As
anticipated, the match had its competitive moments. But Xavier managed to
survive on another increasingly warm day 4-1.
Xavier
raised its record to 8-1.
McHale
issues the same reminder to his players during and after each match – that
though the No. 1 pair often controls the team destiny, it isn’t going to happen
every time out, that the 2s, 3s, 4s and 5s will have to make their presence
felt.
One of those
instances occurred against Arcadia. The Titans’ No. 1 team played very well in
its defeat of XCP, and the Gators’ other four teams came through.
“It took awhile
for us to shake off the rust (after the layoff), but we managed to take care of
things,’’ McHale said. “We knew Arcadia would be a strong opponent, and they
gave us a good fight.’’
McHale
applauded the No. 2 pair of senior Taylor Lopez and junior Shannon Shields, who
won 21-12, 21-9.
And even
though the No. 1 team of junior Trinity Cavanaugh and senior Kailey Klein fell
in two close games, 21-17 and 21-18, McHale said they have improved greatly
since the middle of the season.
“So the
final result wasn’t a true indication of what they have been doing, but you can
see it out there in how they play,’’ he said.
He still is
assessing which girls work the best together.
“We have 16
girls who can play, and we still want to see what they can do,’’ he said.
The Gators
have three matches remaining in the regular season – all at home. They are
Wednesday (April 11) against Phoenix Sunnyslope, Thursday (April 12) against
Gilbert Perry and April 16 against Tempe Corona del Sol.
The
Sunnyslope match will be intriguing because the Vikings are in their first
beach season. The school has a traditionally strong indoor program and coach
Amber LeTarte leads the beach team, “so they will be another challenge for
us,’’ McHale said.
Sunnyslope
is ranked fifth in Division I by the Arizona Interscholastic Association, one
spot ahead of the Gators. Perry is third.
The match
against Perry originally was to be held on Friday, but has been moved up one
day to allow players from both sides to attend a funeral service on Friday for
Alex DePriest, an indoor player from Phoenix Desert Vista who played with many
of the Perry and Xavier players at the club level.
Monday’s results
Xavier 4,
Arcadia 1
Arcadia def.
Kailey Klein-Trinity Cavanaugh 21-17, 21-18
Taylor
Lopez-Shannon Shields def. Arcadia 21-12, 21-9
Lydia
Rush-Analy Carbine def. Arcadia 21-18, 21-10
Lauren
Lykins-Grace Lincoln def. Arcadia 17-21, 21-15, 15-4
Serena
Turner-Zaira Reyes def. Arcadia 21-12, 16-21, 15-7
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