As the season began, the Lady Mats were nationally ranked for the second straight year, this time in 21st spot.
The season started on August 14 with a preseason Jamboree at Gilbert Community College. Coach Jason Smith began his second stint in charge of the team, having been the coach five years ago.
In the first game, the team got off to a good start with a 3-0 win over South Mountain at home.
“All the players came out excited at home,” said sophomore Thaci Pereira, who led the game with 13 kills.
The next game saw the Lady Mats travel to Scottsdale, a place where they have not won since 2007, when Smith was coach for the first time. The girls had a huge comeback victory over 7th-ranked Scottsdale, 25-22, 24-26, 20-25, 25-22 and 15-10.
“The win was mentally big for the girls, coming from behind against a strong team like Scottsdale and giving us belief for the season,” freshman Megan Knapp said after the win.
Community College Tournament and beyond
Heading to the Salt Lake Community College tournament with confidence, AWC played the defending national champions, Southern Idaho. The Lady Mats knew it was going to be a different game and they would have to work hard to come up with a win. At the end, they lost in a long five-set match.
It did not get easier for the Lady Mats, playing two hours later against Number 2 ranked MSU-West Plains, but The Lady Mats played like a team and won impressively, 3-0.
“We really improved our overall level of play today,” Coach Smith said. “We played the 2 teams that played in the national championship game last year. We had more focus than previous games, and it showed tonight.”
After a good Friday, the Lady Mats still had two games on Saturday, both of which they lost, 3-0, to 11th-ranked Northern Idaho and to Northeastern.
“Everyone was really tired after Friday’s games,” said Thaci Pereira. “We just let ourselves down today.”
After a tiring, tough tournament against good competition, the Lady Mats played Chandler Gilbert away, where their fast start turned to four-game loss.
At the Scottsdale Classic tournament, the Lady Mats won the first two matches against New Mexico Military Institute (3-2) and Mesa (3-0), but tired late on the same day, losing against Snow College in five games. The next day they played 11th-ranked Florida, losing in four games. The last game saw the Lady Mats get a five-game win over Central Wyoming.
“Overall we did not play too well this weekend, but we should note that we can be a pretty good team when we are in the control of our mental and emotional games,” Coach Smith said
Rounding out the season
Back to the season at home, the Lady Mats lost to Yavapai 3-1, then bounced back with confidence, winning a four-game match over Phoenix College at home.
“Right now we play better in practice than we do in games,” said Coach Smith
The Lady Mats knew that playing away against 1st-place Eastern Arizona wouldn’t be easy, but they were not afraid going into an intense atmosphere. The Lady Mats handed Eastern Arizona their first loss in two years, coming from 2-1 down to rally and win in five games.
This was “far and away the best game we have played all year,” according to coach Smith. “The girls stacked together, played as a team and showed confidence.”
The Lady Mats put together their best stretch of the season, winning ten games in a row against Pima (twice), Glendale, South Mountain, Yavapai, Scottsdale, Mesa, Chandler- Gilbert and Phoenix.
The streak snapped with a 3-1 home loss to Eastern in an important match that would decide home court in the Region final.
“We played fairly well tonight but did not take care of the small details well enough to finish and win,” said coach Smith. “Eastern is a very good team, and they were sharper tonight than in September.”
After a big loss, the Mats bounced back with a comfortable 3-0 game focusing on the playoffs, which they have not played in two years.
Rounding out the regular season, they played Pima away, winning a comfortable 3-0 match at home on sophomore night and then beating Glendale, 3-0.
“It was great to get a win in 3 on sophomore night,” Smith said. “I was very proud of the girls finishing each game strong. These sophomores have all been through so much over the last 15 months, and I am very proud of how well they have accepted my demanding style of coaching.”
Making it to the Finals
With the regular season games split 1-1 between the two teams, it was the game many expected. Eastern came out with a big, loud crowd. The intimidating environment ended up being too much for the Lady Mats, who lost the final 3-0 (23-25,23-25 and 20-25).
“We put too much pressure on ourselves, and the momentum swing in the second set really hurt being up 7 points and losing,” said Pereira. “We played pretty well tonight but had too many ragging injuries to compete with a school like Eastern.
“We will be back next year,” she added.
In the final standings, Andrea Marshall made 1st Team All Conference, and Thaci Pereira and Bel Fakaosi both made 2nd Team All Conference.
