WINDOW PIECE – The fourth-seeded Monument Valley Mustangs went the distance with Benjamin Franklin in the first round of the Arizona 3A state volleyball playoffs.

MV trailed 2-1 and forced a fifth set, but the Mustangs fell into an early deficit in that final set as Benjamin Franklin prevailed with a 25-17, 19-25, 25-11 victory, 18-25 and 15-8 on Saturday at Millennium High School in Goodyear, Arizona.

“In the fifth set, we struggled with serve-receive pretty early,” said longtime MV coach Rennell Gilmore. “I think that’s where we lost our momentum. This is the most difficult part because it is the first ball you will receive to start the match.

In other 3A action, No. 16 seed Window Rock Lady Scouts were swept by top-seeded Chandler Valley Christian. The established scores were 25-8, 25-12 and 25-11.

Including all regular season tournament games, Window Rock finished the season with an overall record of 25-13-1, as the Scouts finished second in the 3A North behind Monument Valley.

The Mustangs, meanwhile, went 29-10 after losing to Benjamin Franklin, a team MV beat in the state quarterfinals last season.

“The playoffs are what we’ve been talking about since the beginning of the season and it’s not where we would have liked to end up,” Gilmore said of their first-round elimination. “We were hoping to go further in the playoffs, but as the playoffs came around, our team dynamic changed.”

The Mustangs had to retool their roster for the playoffs since MV used two backups at the passer position.

“We would have liked to have had a little more time to prepare, but we did the best we could with what we had,” said the MV coach. “They tried everything they could, and that’s all I can ask for.”

Next season, the Mustangs will be without four big players as libero Adriana Dominguez, setter Kaleigh Manygoats and hitters Aubrey Sheppard and Juliet Mitchell are expected to graduate next spring.

Of those players, Dominguez, Manygoats and Sheppard were varsity players since their freshman seasons. Sheppard, however, sat out last year with an ACL injury.

As for Mitchell, she joined the varsity team during her sophomore season.

“They have been complete leaders,” Gilmore said of his seniors. “They have been good role models over the last two seasons. They did well and they are a great group of girls.

“Not only were they successful on the field, but they were also successful academically, so they will go pretty far in life,” she added.

Despite losing some quality players, Gilmore remains optimistic about next season as the Mustangs will lean on veteran players like Tehya Yazzie, Tahnee Yazzie and Cheyenne Kescoli.

“We’re always going to be a threat,” Gilmore said. “Some of these girls have competed in the varsity season the last two seasons, so we have a lot of girls who are well-rounded individuals. They will help us next season.

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