Six opponents, six victories.
The start of the 2026 volleyball season could not have gone much better for the Patagonia Lobos.
After battling back from a near collapse in their home opener to beat Tombstone on Thursday, the Lobos traveled to Willcox on Saturday for the Cochise Classic and vanquished all four of their opponents: victories over Fort Thomas, San Simon and Bisbee in the round-robin portion, and then defeating ALA-Sierra Vista in the championship match.
Then Patagonia traveled to Tucson on Monday and knocked off Palo Verde in straight sets.
Four of Patagonia’s six wins have come against 2A schools, but only Tombstone and Palo Verde will count toward state rankings.
Patagonia’s starting lineup: Amaya Somoza, Mina Sanchez, Monique Snell,, Nicole Cabrera, Charlotte Myers and Thais Snell. (Photo by Dave Lumia) 
The bleachers were packed for the Lobos’ home opener. (Photo by Dave Lumia) 
Amaya Somoza sets the ball for her teammates. (Photo by Dave Lumia) 
Monique Snell places a shot over the Tombstone block. (Photo by Dave Lumia) 
Charlotte Myers kills one past the Tombstone defense. (Photo by Dave Lumia) 
Nicole Cabrera receives serve. (Photo by Dave Lumia) 
The Lobos celebrate after blocking a Tombstone kill attempt. (Photo by Dave Lumia) 
Coach Brenda Somoza rallies the troops after dropping the fourth set. (Photo by Dave Lumia)
Coach Brenda Somoza said the tournament competition was an important test for her team.
“It gives you come extra playing time, shows where you’re lacking, what you have to work on, and where you’re strong,” she said. “You get to see what the team’s like when they’re tired, are they able to push through. It’s like playing a higher level of volleyball (than typical 1A competition), and that’s what we strive for. We want to play teams that will challenge us.”
Somoza was pleased with how the Lobos fought back after being dominated by ALA in the first set of the championship match.
“We played so bad in the first set,” she said. “I really laid into them. I told them you guys are acting like you don’t know how to play volleyball. You need to get out there, play your game, do the things you know how to do.
“And it just clicked. They were able to overcome that mental game that was going on in their heads. It was one of my proudest moments in coaching, to be able to see them have that kind of success, to see all that work they put in playing in a hot gym all summer pay off.”
Amaya Somoza, Monique Snell and Nicole Cabrera were names to the all-tournament team.
A busy early season schedule for the Lobos continues this week with road matches against The Gregory School on Wednesday and Valley Union on Thursday. “They’re both going to be challenging,” Somoza said.
Their next home match will be Sept. 10 vs. Duncan.