BENSON — A tough week of competition had the Benson Bobcats snapping their seven-game winning streak and finishing 1-2 for the week.
On Oct. 27 the Bobcats hosted the Morenci Wildcats. The first time Benson took on the Wildcats in Morenci earlier in the season, Benson brought home a 3-2 victory. This game, however, had the Wildcats reversing the outcome on Benson’s home court with a victory of their own, defeating the Bobcats 3-1.
Benson came out strong in the first game to defeat Morenci 25-20. The next three games, however, would go to the Wildcats 25-13, 25-21, 25-16.
Senior Taylor Fenn led the Bobcats with three service aces followed by sophomore Tatum Benson with one.
Senior Emily Darwin led Benson in kills with 18 followed by junior Shaylin Taylor with seven. Seniors Jennifer Barker, junior Savannah Kilpatrick and senior Paige Vaughn each had two. Junior Chloe Martin, sophomore Ally Crouse and sophomore Ellie Palmer each added one to the list.
“Morenci definitely came to play,” Benson coach Katie Maakestad said. “We were covering all of their spikes so they changed from spiking to tipping. That’s what hurt us. We just couldn’t cover them.”
The Bobcats bounced back from their loss to Morenci the next night when they hosted the Miami Vandals. The game started rough with Benson losing 26-24. The Bobcats came back in the next three games determined to change the previous day’s results. They won 25-22, 25-17 and 25-19.
Leading the team in service aces were: Taylor with eight; Fenn and Benson with three each; and Darwin, Palmer, and senior Molly Vivian with one each. The Bobcats totaled 38 kills for the game: Darwin with 13; Crouse with nine; Taylor with seven; Kilpatrick with four; Vaughn with two; and Barney, Barker, and sophomore Hannah Post with one each.
“After losing the first game, we knew we had to step it up to win,” Maakestad said. “We definitely pulled it together as a team to win.”
Traveling to Pima on Oct. 29, the Bobcats took on the Roughriders, a tough 2A conference opponent. Benson fell to the Pima in three games 25-17, 25-9 and 25-15.
“Pima is always tough on their home court,” Maakestad said. “We held on during the first game but Pima was just on fire. There wasn’t anything that could stop them.”
Leading the Bobcats against Pima in kills were: Darwin with four; Barney, Crouse, and Kilpatrick with two each; and Barker and Vaughn with one each. Leading in service aces were Fenn, Taylor, and Darwin with one each.
Benson, 8-5 overall, will be competing in two more regular season home games: Monday against the St.David Tigers and Tuesday against the Desert Christian Eagles.
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