Haley Spracale is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Dobson High School for AZPreps365.com

The Dobson Mustangs girls’ volleyball team fell to 0-4 on the season after losing to the Westwood Warriors in three sets Tuesday.

Westwood took advantage late in each set, winning 25-18, 25-20, 25-12.

Dobson outside hitter Petra Woodward, the single varsity returner, showed relentless energy the entire game. With strong serving, including an ace, and strong control up at the net, Woodward helped create the energy Dobson needed to hold close in the first two sets. She led the team with 16 digs and had a 100 percent service rate.

Outside hitter Tailynn Burcham had eight kills to lead the Mustangs. She also was the only player with an official block. Outside hitter Tailynn Burcham provided six assists.

With such a young team, the Mustangs are still looking to find their groove. Dips in the energy made it hard for the team to stay one foot ahead of Westwood. Head Coach Will Robinson said he wants his team to focus on “next-ball mentality” moving forward. Rather than getting stuck on past plays, the Mustangs need to turn their mistakes into learning opportunities.

Woodward said she hopes her team becomes more consistent as the season progresses. While she feels that the team gets better at every match, it remains something it has to focus on. Woodward also wants to see her teammates become stronger at passing and digging.

Dobson struggled with unforced errors throughout the game, especially in the third set. Simple mistakes made it difficult to stay focused on the game. The Mustangs also had two close calls with potentially dangerous collisions. As the season progresses, the team will have to lower these occurrences to keep the momentum going.

The Mustangs also will have to figure out how to become more competitive despite being a young team.

“We’ve got a lot of sophomores out there and one varsity returner,” Robinson said. “They're just learning how to play in general. They haven't played a lot of volleyball. COVID really hurt Dobson because while these other schools were able to do club sports, we weren't. We were locked out of our gym. We're behind right now. We'll get there, they just need to play more volleyball.”

The loss to Westwood wasn’t something that could be completely prevented. Robinson noted Westwood was, “a lot older and more experienced.”