Athlete of the Week

Madisen Sowers: The Phoenix Pinnacle junior outside hitter was instrumental in getting her team into the state playoffs the final week of the season. The Pioneers, who were on the outside looking in, won two matches to earn the No. 13 seed. Sowers combined for 23 kills in wins over Tempe Marcos de Niza and Mesa Skyline. She also had 11 digs.

Week in review

With an upset loss to Chandler Basha on Wednesday in the 5A-I state tournament, the outstanding high school career of Mesa Mountain View’s Madi Fitzgerald came to an end. One of the state’s top hitters, the senior middle blocker ranks sixth in the state in kills at 4.4 per game and 11th in blocks at 1.4. She had 20 kills in a match three times this season and, including tournament contests, had double-digit kills 24 times. In a pair of key region victories, she had 12 blocks against Mesa and 10 against Mesa Westwood. “In my opinion she’s one of the best middles in the state,” Mountain View coach Katie Higgins said. “Without her we would have had a tough time scoring in our offense. Her speed, agility and jumping ability is above a lot of girls at the high school level.” Higgins said Fitzgerald is undecided on her college choice.

Open strong: The East Valley went 15-11 in first-round matches in the Class 4A and 5A tournaments. Six of the losses came at the hands of other East Valley teams.

Class 5A-I is guaranteed an East Valley champion with all eight of its quarterfinalists coming from the area. Of the six matches that saw lower seeds win, the East Valley had four of the upset winners including Basha (No. 12 – 5A-I), Gilbert Mesquite (No. 10 – 5A-I), Scottsdale Desert Mountain (No. 9 – 5A-II) and Scottsdale Saguaro (No. 11 – 4A-I).

Class Act: The head coaching career of Westwood’s Steve Crook came to an end with Wednesday’s state tournament loss at Phoenix Mountain Pointe. He received high praise from opposing coach Fred Mann, especially when there was a third-set controversy. At a timeout, the official score was 17-17, though Mann believed his Pride should have been winning 18-17. “This is typical of who he is,” Mann said. “He was telling the official the score should have been 18-17 when it was marked 17-17.

Coaching for 18 years, winning a state championship and having a top team overall, and having the class to do that shows exactly who he is. He’s a classy guy and I appreciate him doing it.” The officials still decided to leave the score at 17-17. The Pride went on to win the game 25-23 and the match 3-0.

Looking ahead

Wrapping up: Chandler Hamilton High School will be the site for the Class 4A and 5A state semifinals Saturday. The season for both classes wraps up with state championship matches at Phoenix Brophy Prep. Class 4A finals are Monday and Class 5A crowns winners Tuesday.

Contact writer: (480) 898-5904 (Ext. 1) or tribvball@yahoo.com