By Rebecca Daly
Staff Writer
The Hamilton Huskies are on the road competing against the Perry Pumas for this week’s Athletes Unlimited Volleyball Game of the Week.
The two teams met early this season during the House of Payne Girls Volleyball Tournament at the end of August, where Hamilton won the match 2-0 over Perry.
This is a head-to-head matchup, considering the teams compete at a similar caliber. Hamilton is 5-4 on the season and ranked 17th in the state, just ahead of Perry, which is ranked 18th with a 6-3 record.
Hamilton was on a run earlier this season going 4-1 after opening up the first game of the season with a loss. The Huskies next three games were against the top three teams in the state, with the Huskies coming up short of victory in each of them.
The Huskies have a more balanced matchup Tuesday night against the Pumas. Both teams played in the Nike Tournament of Champions against tough out-of-state opponents this past weekend.
Hamilton beat four out of six opponents, whereas Perry seemed to struggle, coming out of the tournament with one win. Tuesday’s matchup should get Perry back on track for the rest of the season.
Perry has a set of middle blockers who have been making their mark on the court. Senior Kenna Cogill is ranked 7th in state for total blocks with 70, and senior Gabby Johnson is ranked 14th in state for total blocks with 58. These two on the court could give Hamilton a hard time getting the ball over the net.
Hamilton has some skillful attackers that will have to play around Perry’s blockers. Senior outside hitter Raegan Richardson has 164 kills this season, and senior middle hitter Anna Williams plays both sides of the ball well. She had the most blocks for Hamilton in the recent tournament. Freshman middle hitter Makinlee Landis is ranked 33rd in Arizona for total blocks with 45, and is a young player with great potential for the rest of her high school career.
Hamilton and Perry are so close in the rankings and the performances by the teams Tuesday night could certainly separate one from the other.
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