Mia Sokolowski leads Tucson High to (25-18, 25-18, 25-20) sweep of Buena
September 30, 2014 by Andy Morales, AZPreps365
Mia Sokolowski.
(Andy Morales/AIA365.com)
Tucson High and Sierra Vista Buena began the day ranked just outside of the top 16 in regards to the AIA/MaxPreps power rankings for Division II but both are definitely within striking distance with sectional play getting underway.
The Badgers (5-2, 1-0) made the first move with a sweep over the Colts (6-2, 0-1) Tuesday night (25-18, 25-18, 25-20).
The match featured two of the state's best outside hitters in Buena senior Bryn Popovich and Tucson junior Mia Sokolowski. Popovich (6-foot-2) is headed to New Mexico State and Sokolowski (6-foot-4) is still deciding between the University of Arizona, Texas and Florida.
Popovich missed the first few weeks of the season with a broken left ankle but is back at full-strength. "I'm back at 100 percent," said Popovich. "I'm proud of the team for keeping us close and we've really done a good job so far."
A four-year starter on varsity, Popovich has yet to experience post-season play, in fact, it's been eight years since the school earned a bid to the state playoffs. With Popovich, this year appears to be the best shot for the Colts.
Sokolowski is in her third year at Tucson High and was named one of the nation's top recruits by Prepvolleyball.com over the summer. A standout for Tucson VBC Dinamo, Sokolowski will have to add searching for a new club team to her future volleyball decisions since Dinamo recently ended its eight-year run as one of the top clubs in Arizona.
"I have to see which college fits me the most," explained Sokolowski. "I need to be myself with my choice. As for club, I will now have to try out for others but that will also work out."
Tucson High sprinted out to a 7-1 lead in the first set and built a 22-11 lead before coasting to a 25-18 win. The second set proved to me more of a battle early on but Tucson slowly pulled away to an 18-9 lead before finishing it out for another 25-18 win.
The Badgers jumped on a 20-12 lead in the third set but Buena went on an 8-2 run to cut the lead down to 22-20 but back-to-back kills from Sokolowski and Andrea Mada combined with a miss gave Tucson High the 25-20 win for the sweep.
Popovich finished with nine kills and seven digs to lead Buena. Jazmine Craig added four kills. Sokolowski had 11 kills and six digs for Tucson High. Mada added four kills, Missy Leyva had seven digs and Bailey Gin put up 24 assists.