Monument Valley tops Window Rock at Fort Defiance volleyball tournament
Monument Valley beat Window Rock for the gold bracket in Fort Defiance, where 18 teams used a round-robin tuneup to test chemistry before the season.
Monument Valley left Fort Defiance with the gold-bracket win over Window Rock, giving the summer round-robin volleyball tournament an early read on which Apache County and nearby teams are already syncing up before the fall season. The event drew 18 registered teams to the Bee Hółdzil Fighting Scouts Events Center and gave coaches a low-pressure setting to see how new combinations handled live play.
For Window Rock coach Ashley Mitchell, the point was not just wins and losses. Her Lady Scouts used the tournament to get players into different lineups, a useful step for a roster that does not always stay together in the same rotation during the school year. Coaches split teams into younger and older groups and watched how players handled communication, trust and mid-rally adjustments.
Monument Valley coach Rennell Gilmore brought multiple groups into the event, including underclassmen and upperclassmen squads, so players could get game speed before the formal season begins. That setup also gave the Mustangs a chance to measure depth across grade levels, something that can matter in the 3A North where summer chemistry often carries into region play.
The result carried more weight for Window Rock because the Lady Scouts have spent the last few summers trying to break through in their own gym. They lost the 2023 home final to Chinle in three sets, finished runner-up again in 2024 against Winslow, then won the home invitational in 2025. Beating a familiar regional peer now serves as a practical checkpoint for a program that has been trying to turn summer reps into fall momentum.
The regional picture remains tight. The 3A North sent five teams to the Arizona 3A Play-In Game last season, and both Monument Valley and Window Rock reached the 16-team state tournament field. With Ashley Mitchell listed as Window Rock’s head coach for the 2026-27 season, and the Lady Scouts’ tournament already scheduled again for Aug. 28-29 at the same Fort Defiance venue, the event has settled into a regular marker on the local volleyball calendar.
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