Back in the
day, Bryant was a student and outstanding athlete for the Aztecs.
Someone
asked her if she had searched for her locker. Maybe there was a granola bar or
notebook and pencils still in there.
No, she did
not do that, but she did find a photo of one of the teams she played on.
But it was
the present that was her main focus.
Her
volleyball team is among Arizona’s best, and she wanted to see a strong showing
against the team the Gators defeated for last year’s Division 6A state
championship.
The Gators
complied with her wishes, earning a 3-0 sweep in a match that was competitive
most of the way.
The scores
were 25-20, 25-19 and 25-19.
Bryant said
that her team “learned its lesson’’ in its previous match against Phoenix
Mountain Pointe on Thursday (Sept. 6). In that contest, Xavier won the first
two games, only to have the Pride rally for two wins to force a fifth game.
Xavier won that one to take the match, 3-2. The Gators didn’t want to take any
chances after winning the first two against Corona del Sol.
“We stayed
focused on what we needed to do and we are happy to get out of here by winning
all three,’’ she said.
Bryant was
pleased with the play of sophomore outside hitter Serena Turner, senior libero
Ashley Yeung and senior setter Shannon Shields. Turner was a powerful force at
the net, Yeung had another strong effort digging out shots along the back line,
and Shields was an equal-opportunity passer while helping to provide scoring
opportunities.
Xavier (4-0)
will have another road match on Wednesday (Sept. 12) against Scottsdale
Chaparral.
This
weekend, the Gators will be back in Las Vegas to play in the 64-team Durango
Classic, sponsored by Nike. Xavier will be in pool play with three other teams
on Friday (Sept. 14), and switch to
bracket play on Saturday (Sept. 15).
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