Horizon, the nation's No. 11 volleyball team, will make an appearance at this weekend's prestigious Nike Tournament of Champions.
Photo by Jann Hendry
The last few weeks of the Division I girls volleyball schedule has been brutal for many teams.
Power point matches and tournament action have had the top eight or so teams going head-to-head on a nightly basis.
It's time for a little reprieve.
Welcome to the annual Nike Tournament of Champions, which is being held Friday and Saturday at several Chandler high schools and the Court 1 complex.
"It comes at a good time, just before playoffs,"
Desert Vista (Phoenix) coach Molly West said. "I don't want to play Arizona teams. We want to play out-of-state teams and get some experience for our younger players."
The tournament features teams from Alaska, Oregon, Illinois, Nevada, California, Colorado, Missouri and New York.
Participating Arizona teams include
Apache Junction,
Arcadia (Phoenix),
Basha (Chandler),
Chandler,
Cienega (Vail),
Deer Valley (Glendale),
Desert Ridge (Mesa),
Dobson (Mesa),
Hamilton (Chandler),
Horizon (Scottsdale),
Horizon Honors (Phoenix),
Joy Christian (Glendale),
Mesa,
Mountain Pointe (Phoenix),
Northwest Christian (Phoenix),
Perry (Gilbert),
Red Mountain (Mesa),
St. Mary's (Phoenix),
O'Connor (Phoenix),
Seton Catholic (Chandler.),
Sunnyslope (Phoenix),
Tempe Prep,
Thatcher,
Valley Lutheran (Phoenix),
Veritas Prep (Phoenix),
Williams Field (Gilbert) and
Xavier College Prep (Phoenix).
Teams are divided into four, 16-team brackets. Each school plays three pool matches on Friday and is guaranteed at least three more on Saturday leading up to each bracket's final.
Horizon is ranked
No. 11 in the MaxPreps Xcellent 25 and No. 2 in the computer rankings.
Another ranked team in the tournament is La Salle (Calif.), as the Lancers are
No. 15 in the computer rankings.
The level of competition makes it one of the tougher events in the West, and eventual champions will have earned their way.
Regardless of where each team finishes, the experience — along with the break before the stretch run to the postseason — will make every team stronger.
"Consistency is all we want," Mountain Pointe coach Karen Gray said. "It's something we are looking for and playing great teams at an event like this will help with that."
Jason P. Skoda, a former Arizona Republic and current Ahwatukee
Foothills News staff writer, is a 19-year sports writing veteran. Follow
on Twitter @JSkodaAFN and contact him at jskoda1024@aol.com.
