1A Playoff Preview

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 1A conference got off to a fast start, they didn't do a play-in tournament and went straight to the old school 16 team single elimination bracket. They will also do their last 3 matches this weekend to finish out the season. This means everything will be decided over two days this weekend at Desert Mountain HS.  </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We will preview the quarterfinal match ups and give our predictions for the finals.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The bracket for the 1A playoffs can be found here:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><a href="https://azpreps365.com/brackets/volleyball-girls/1a/1575-2025-aia-girls-volleyball-1a-state-championship">https://azpreps365.com/brackets/volleyball-girls/1a/1575-2025-aia-girls-volleyball-1a-state-championship</a></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Quarterfinal matches:</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>#1 Cicero Prep vs #8 Mogollon:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Mogollon is traditionally a high level team in the 1A conference and this year has been no different. Mogollon is led by Kaddie Porter and [player_tooltip player_id='888365' first='Myla' last='Porter'] who have been some of the better players in 1A. Myla is currently 2nd in 1A in kills while Kaddie is 7th in assists and they have been a big part of the Mustangs success. On the other side of the court we have the two time defending champs in Cicero Prep who are the number 1 team in 1A. They have gotten contributions from a number of girls this year. If you look at the 1A leaderboard you will see their players all throughout the top 10 in stats. [player_tooltip player_id='882808' first='Nicole' last='Damian'] is 3rd in kills, 4th in aces, 4th in assists, [player_tooltip player_id='882697' first='Kate' last='Harrigan'] is 7th in hitting and blocks, and Layla Hrabe is 10th in digs. They have a girl ranked in the top 10 in each statistical category for 1A which shows how much talent is on this team. Cicero has a lot of depth and talent and we see that as the big difference in their quarterfinals match up.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Prediction: Cicero 3 Mogollon 0</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>#4 Joseph City vs #12 El Capitan</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This is the match up of the quarterfinals right here. You have the defending state runners up vs one of the biggest challengers in 1A in Joseph City. El Capitan is starting to hit their groove pulling off the upset in round 1 over Ash Fork, winning the 1A North Tournament, and they haven't lost in almost a month. Ruth Timpson and Samantha Hammon have been leading the charge for the Eagles, averaging over 6 kills a set between the two of them. They face a tough Joseph City who is a very deep team. They have 4 girls with over 100 kills this season and are hitting at an impressive clip. They also have one of the top liberos in 1A in Shenoa Skidmore who covers a lot of ground and is a defensive force for them. They are able to have a different girl step up each game to get the job done with a testament to their depth. We see this match up being an intense back and forth match up with both teams trading points and going on runs against each other. We like how deep Joseph city is, and in the playoffs the more options you have the higher chance of success you can have.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Prediction: Joseph City 3 El Capitan 1</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>#3 St. David vs #6 Anthem Prep</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This should be a close quarterfinals match-up. Both these teams have had exceptional seasons going a combined 25-9 in powerpoint matches. Anthem Prep is led by a trio of seniors on offense that are all averaging over 1.8 kills a set in Vallery Ava, Adelle Greene, and [player_tooltip player_id='804910' first='Brighton' last='Pillsbury']. These 3 have been part of the offensive catalyst for the Eagles this season, and have done a great job keeping opponents off balance by each being able to carry the team at some point. St. David is up for the challenge as they are one of the best defensive teams and scrappiest teams in the tournament. They have 4 girls that have over 270 digs this season which demonstrates their effort to the defensive front. The defensive effort makes it easy for their pin hitter in <a href="https://www.maxpreps.com/az/st-david/st-david-tigers/athletes/austyn-hatch/?careerid=4gvjgm68963l5">Austyn Hatch</a> to get involved on the offensive end. Overall this match should be one of the more intense and exciting quarterfinal match ups. Both these teams have the ability to make a run at the title but in the end we see the offensive depth of Anthem Prep being the difference in this one.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Prediction: Anthem Prep 3 St. David 2</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>#2 North Phoenix Prep vs #10 Fort Thomas</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Fort Thomas pulled off a round 1 upset to get them to the quarterfinals by winning 3-1 on Tuesday night. Fort Thomas has done well this season with their only losses coming to teams currently ranked above them or teams in 2A. They have shown the ability to compete at a high level and their quarterfinals match up should be no different. However they will have their hands full with North Phoenix who&nbsp; is led by their senior pin [player_tooltip player_id='891405' first='Sophie' last='Ulrich']. Sophie should see an uptick in defensive focus in these playoffs as she has been an offensive juggernaut in 1A terminating the ball at 47% this season. She does have help on her team in a trio of junior hitters, Nora Oliver, Zoe Ellison, and Maya Pesheva all of whom average over 1.7 kills a set. Fort Thomas will need to find a way to slow these hitters down to have a chance. We do think the depth and top end talent of North Phoenix will be too much in the end.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Prediction: North Phoenix 3 Fort Thomas 0</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Finals Prediction:</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The quarterfinals and semi finals will both be played on Friday at Desert Mountain, with the winners playing each other at 2pm on Saturday. We do see this as one of the deepest 1A tournaments in a long time; anyone of the 4 semi finalists will have a real shot at the title.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Over here at PrepDig we see Cicero Prep coming out of the top half of the bracket and North Phoenix Prep coming out of the bottom half to meet in the finals. Both teams haven't lost to a 1A school in a powerpoint match to this point of the season and we don't see that changing this weekend. We will stand with our preseason prediction and we see Cicero Prep taking the 1A title. It should be a close match but the championship/playoff experience that Cicero has will be the difference maker.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Prediction: Cicero Prep 3 North Phoenix Prep 1</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->