(Flagstaff's Courtney Leffel had a match-high 22 kills Tuesday at Ironwood. Photo by Jose Garcia azpreps365.com)

It shouldn’t take Ironwood and Flagstaff long to iron out the early season kinks teams tend to experience.  

Playing a lively five-game match out of the chute absolutely helped identify some of the problem areas for both squads. The two-hour match forced Flagstaff to leave the Valley late but likely in a cheerful mood as it traveled up the I-17 Tuesday night.

The Division II school was certainly all smiles after it opened its 2015 campaign with a hard fought 23-25, 26-24, 25-20, 24-26, 15-7 win. But don’t overlook Ironwood, which saw its veteran state championship coach Kathy Wilson step down last season, the only losing season in Wilson’s 13 years.

The D-II Glendale program seems to be in good hands with new coach Lisa Lopez.

“I’m happy,” Lopez said. “I think this is definitely a positive sign of what’s to come, and I definitely see us being a strong contender.”

Ironwood doesn’t dress a go-to hitter like Flagstaff’s 5-feet-2 power-house Courtney Leffel.

But what makes Ironwood dangerous is that everybody on the team seems to contribute. The team lost junior outside hitter Kaelea Johnson to an injury in the first game and didn’t skip a beat.

Flagstaff seemed out of sync in the early going, and Lopez’s girls took advantage, winning Game 1 and charging ahead 18-8 in Game 2.

“I think there was a lot of nerves, but after the first game they were gone,” Leffel (22 kills) said.

Flagstaff, which used a freshman in its two-setter rotation, regrouped just in time.

Despite trailing 24-20, Leffel's team rallied to take Game 2 behind the late kills of another outside source, Jazzi Joerger (20 kills). Flagstaff pulled out Game 3 with another late run, ending that game with an 8-3 run after the teams were knotted at 17.

Ironwood’s late-game tactics finally prevailed in the fourth game, when a more consistent Leffel and Joerger were on their game because of better passing and setters Brooklyn Quick and Raymi Hernandez (55 assists). But Ironwood blocked Leffel to tie Game 4 at 24-24, and an ace by Sarah Peelman and then a Flagstaff net violation gave Flagstaff the game.

Leffel was used to pound the ball away from different spots on the court, but when middle blockers Noni Thomas and Alic Turner were more involved in the attack, Flagstaff seemed like a more dangerous and balanced team. It all came together in Game 5 for Flagstaff, which surrendered the first three points but wrapped up the game with a 15-5 run.                         

“When you play a new group of kids together,” veteran Flagstaff coach Beth Haglin said, “they’ve got to figure it out and mesh as a team on the court. A lot of the girls contributed (Tuesday), and it was a lot of fun.”