Freshman Charlotte Myers goes up for a kill during last Friday’s resounding Lobos victory over visiting San Simon. Photo by Dave Lumia 
Seniors (left to right) Emma Lewton, Brianna Majalca and Jacky Benitez are honored on court after the game with San Simon. Senior Ximena Gonzalez and manager Adahir Ayon were not present for the ceremony. Photo by Dave Lumia 
Seniors Brianna Majalca and Emma Lewton joined classmates Jaxon Yslava, Noah Gallardo and Miguel Albarron to sing the national anthem. Photo by Dave Lumia 
Sasha Lewton, senior Emma Lewton, and Talene Lewton. Photo by Dave Lumia 
Jessica Gomez and senior Jacky Benitez. Photo by Dave Lumia 
Griselda Majalca and senior Brianna Majalca. Photo by Dave Lumia 
Brianna Majalca with coach Brenda Somoza. Photo by Dave Lumia 
Emma Lewton with coach Brenda Somoza. Photo by Dave Lumia 
Brianna Majalca (center) prepares to embrace Emma Lewton after the Lobos clinched the victory over San Simon. Photo by Dave Lumia 
Brianna Majalca and Amaya Somoza have plenty to smile about during Senior Night. Photo by Dave Lumia 
The Lobos celebrate a point. Photo by Dave Lumia 
Brianna Majalca bumps the ball to a teammate. Photo by Dave Lumia 
Senior Night swag on display for manager Adahir Ayon and players Jacky Benitez, Ximena Gonzalez, Emma Lewton and Brianna Majalca. Photo by Dave Lumia
Senior Night for Patagonia High volleyball brought out the bouquets of flowers, the sparkly balloons, the packed grandstand and a wide range of emotions.
It also brought out one of the best performances of the year for the Lobos.
Patagonia concluded its regular season on Friday night with a resounding 25-14, 25-13, 25-10 victory over San Simon.
It was the Lobos’ third consecutive victory following their Oct. 15 loss to third-ranked St. David and locked up second place in the 1A South region, improving their record to 15-3 overall and 6-1 in region play. The Lobos are ranked eighth in the state among 1A teams and in strong position to host a first-round match in the state tournament on Nov. 4.
San Simon is ranked 14th among 1A schools with a 10-4 overall record and 5-2 in region play.
“Senior Night’s always a big night,” Patagonia coach Brenda Somoza said. “They always come in with a lot of energy, wanting to win. They played very good tonight.”
Patagonia and San Simon had met twice previously, and while the Lobos had won both matches, Friday night’s victory was by far the most dominant, with junior Amaya Somoza able to consistently set up senior Brianna Majalca and sophomore Monique Snell for kills at the net. Somoza was credited with 25 assists, Snell had 12 kills, and Majalca finished with nine in addition to three aces.
San Simon made a brief run at the Lobos midway through the first set, rattling off five consecutive points to pull within 13-12, but the Lobos took over from there, outscoring the Longhorns 12-2 while getting five straight points off of Majalca’s serve.
The Lobos were never threatened in the second or third sets, building up leads of 16-4 and 17-3 to wrap up the victory.
Seniors Majalca, Emma Lewton and Jacky Benitez were honored on the court afterward. Lewton and Majalca both admitted to being affected by emotions throughout the night.
“Very, very,” Lewton said. “I felt very jittery.”
“Me as well,” Majalca said. “I was just excited that we won by a lot.”
Next up for the Lobos is the region tournament at The Gregory School in Tucson next Friday and Saturday. Patagonia will play Friday night against the winner of a first-round match between San Simon and Baboquivari. A possible third shot at three-time defending champion St. David awaits on Saturday.
Somoza said she’s pleased with how the team has responded to the 3-1 loss to St. David on Oct. 15, with younger players such as Charlotte Myers, Losiram Estrada and Nicole Cabrera taking on larger roles.
“We tried not to dwell on it,” she said. “It hurt us all; we wanted that win real bad. We just fed off that, worked on the things we needed to work on. Put it in the past and move forward.”