Small school volleyball in Southern Arizona dominated its counterparts from the North at the All-Star games June 21 at Thatcher High School.

The 1A/2A South team gutted out a hard-fought 20-25, 25-20, 20-25, 25-23, 15-12 win over the North team in the first game.

The head coach for the 1A/2A All-Stars was Danelle Hansen of Fort Thomas, and the assistant coach was Casey Lewis of San Simon.

Shawnee John, a former Thatcher Eagles volleyball star, won the MVP at the 1A/2A All Star game June 21 at Thatcher High School. John is attending Arizona State University on a volleyball scholarship in the fall. Contributed photo

After the North netted a serve to lose the fourth game, the South rode the strong play of Arizona State University-bound Shawnee John down the stretch.

“Shawnee had some key tips, blocks and outside kills to finish that game when the South was down 12-10 (to bring the team back) for the win,” Thatcher head coach Krista Brown said. John went on to win the Most Valuable Player award for the 1A/2A match.

The South had several other local representatives, including Kesha Loma-yesva and Lena Moses (Fort Thomas) and Abby Bolt-inghouse (Thatcher).

In the 3A All-Star game, Safford head coach Janene Ward and assistant coach Chastity Broderick led the South to a four-game win (25-18, 25-15, 18-25, 25-17) over the North.

Other than the third game, the South consistently hammered the North team. The lone Safford representative on the South team was setter Emily Gordon, who graduated in May. Staci Mitchell of Parker was awarded the MVP after the match.