Ironwood Ridge had a setback on Tuesday when Cienega came in and beat the Nighthawks on their own court. It was a huge win for the Bobcats but it also came five days after getting swept by Sahuaro.

The Bobcats also have a loss to Salpointe on their record which pretty much makes the top four a jumbled mess. Ironwood Ridge will host Sahuaro next Wednesday, Oct. 5. The winner of that match can try to restore some order to the Tucson Top Ten, if only for a day.

The 10^th spot has seen the most movement this year and Catalina Foothills sneaks in this week after St. David and The Gregory School split matches.

The Falcons have the second highest Average Opponent Rating (strength of schedule) for a team from Southern Arizona in the 4A Conference. Only Salpointe has a higher rating. The Falcons have lost to Ironwood Ridge, Cienega Rincon/UHS, Sahuaro and Canyon del Oro. It’s the murderers' row of volleyball.

The loss to the Dorados came Thursday night at home with Canyon del Oro winning the match 3-1 (25-21, 25-19, 19-25, 25-20).  CDO took Ironwood Ridge to five sets on Sept. 15 and the only other loss so far has been to Cienega.

The Falcons are led by senior hitters Anita Eichenour and Kelsey Siemons along with senior setter Geena Kading while the Dorados are led by junior outside Zeleya Loop, sophomore Eve Pearson, senior middle Lauren Brown and senior setter Leila El-Ali.

A preseason All-Star, Eichenour is still waiting for an offer from the next level but one is sure to come. This year may appear to be difficult but region play is just beginning and almost all slates are wiped clean.

“This year has been okay,” Eichenour said. “When we do our best we have a chance of winning but we have had some off days. Honestly, we have the best set of girls so it makes everything more doable. I’m not too stressed out about it.”

She may only be 5-foot-7 but Loop is probably the most noticeable on the Dorado court. She shows great emotion when she scores and she scores a lot.

“The difference between this year and last year is that this team really wants to win,” Loop explained. “We are here to win, not just to have fun. I think I have the same amount of energy on every play but I can get really into it when I feel others need to be picked up a bit.”

Catalina Foothills is hosting the Lady Falcon Invitational from Oct. 7-8.

TUCSON TOP TEN

1: Sahuaro

2: Ironwood Ridge

3: Salpointe

4: Cienega

5: Canyon del Oro

6: Rincon/University

7: Mountain View

8. Sabino

9: Tanque Verde

10: Catalina Foothills