McReynolds has 15 kills and two aces but Volleyball falls in straight sets at Mesa CC

The Pima Community College volleyball team (11-9, 8-3 in ACCAC) hit the road on Friday for an ACCAC conference match at Mesa Community College (12-5, 8-4) in a battle between two NJCAA Division II nationally ranked programs.

• The No. 25 ranked Aztecs fell to the No. 21 Thunderbirds in straight sets (25-22, 25-21, 28-26). The two teams have split their regular season meetings so far this season as the Aztecs got the win at Aztec Gymnasium in five sets on Sept. 11.
• The Aztecs held a slim lead for half of the first set. Up 15-14, the Aztecs surrendered eight straight points and trailed 22-15. The Thunderbirds had set-point at 24-18 but the Aztecs made it interesting with four straight points to make it 24-22. Mesa scored the ensuing point to take a 1-0 advantage in the match.
•  The Thunderbirds scored five of the first six points in the second set as the Aztecs were forced to play catch-up. Mesa's biggest lead was at 18-10 but the Aztecs slowly chipped away. After back-to-back aces, Pima cut the deficit to 23-21 but the Thunderbirds scored the final two points as the Aztecs trailed 2-0.
• The Aztecs scored seven of the first nine points in the third set as sophomore Kenna Simon's block and sophomore Haylee Gilleland's (Flagstaff HS) kill made it 7-2. Mesa chipped away but Pima was able to hold a one-to-two-point lead. The first tie of the set came at 14-14 and afterwards there were 11 ties total for the game. The Aztecs held set-point on three occasions down the stretch at 24-23, 25-24 and 26-25 but the Thunderbirds rallied and scored the final two points to end it.
• Freshman Maggie McReynolds (Mountain View HS) finished the match with a team-high 15 kills to go along with two aces.
• Freshman Kendall Snyder (Canyon del Oro HS) closed out the match with five kills and two blocks.
• Freshman Addy Fisher (Queen Creek HS) posted three aces.

The Aztecs face another tough test on Wednesday when they play at No. 9 Scottsdale Community College. First volleyball is set for 7:00 p.m.