Bourgade Catholic has been solid this season, but struggled in their last couple matches, and did so with unfortunate timing.  It was the start of regional play for the Golden Eagles.

They lost all three sets in both matches, the first to Horizon Honors, and the second to Valley Christian.  Their third region game was Tuesday night against Yuma Catholic, and they came out victorious.

Bourgade took the first set,  27-24.  The game was very competitive, and when it looked like Bourgade was putting the game away, Yuma Catholic head coach Dusti Williamson called a timeout and her squad got back on track. 

Bourgade was on a 4-0 run just before the timeout, and was up five points.  They then saw their lead dwindle down to just one after the Shamrocks followed up the timeout with a 4-1 run.  Bourgade found their rhythm again, and closed out the victory with momentum for the second set.

“We’ve just been working really hard as a unit to not let anything drop, and to work together, and when things start going rough, to pick each other up,” Bourgade head coach Melinda Espinoza said.  “They did a good job tonight making sure that they stayed pumped and that they covered for each other.”

The second set was a little more of a dominant performance from Espinoza’s girls, as they won 25-15.  However, the Shamrocks seemed to catch just about everyone in the building off guard in the last set.

They played a very fierce and competitive set, in which they made a few promising runs, and almost stole the game at the end, but fell 25-21.

Yuma Catholic was dealing with injuries to some key players.

“We have the talent. We have the ability on our side," Williamson said. "Today we were short two of our main starters, which I think kind of threw us for a loop.” 

Due to her group being a little banged up, she moved middle hitter and middle blocker Jordan Jones up from the JV team.  This was her first time playing at the varsity level, and Williamson was pleased with her performance. 

Bourgade has seven more matches this year, as well as a rematch against Yuma Catholic in their gym.  These games are crucial, as they are all games within their 3A Metro West region.

Espinoza, as well as senior captain Erica Sandoval, believed a key to Tuesday's victory was the energy and hustle that their team displayed.  

“I think the most important part is staying positive mentally,” Sandoval said, looking ahead to the rest of the season.  “I think positivity is a really big part of my own game, and being able to keep myself positive, being able to pick my teammates up when they’re down, and keeping the whole team positive is really good for our morale.”