The start of the quarterfinal round of the boys 5A high school volleyball tournament scheduled for Tuesday night has been postponed by several hours. The court ruled that the team at Williams Field, which had been forced to withdraw from the playoffs, was allowed to play. Last week's game.
The Arizona Interscholastic Association acknowledged the situation in a statement released Tuesday afternoon.
“The AIA was notified today that a temporary restraining order has been issued allowing Williams Field High School to continue participating in the 5A boys volleyball tournament. The team will return and tonight (Tuesday) at 6 p.m. The school is scheduled to play at Sunrise Mountain at Williams Field High School from “the school'' in a statement.
“Due to this legal process, all games in tonight's quarterfinals cannot begin until the first round between Sunrise Mountain and Williams Field is completed. Once completed, all games in the quarterfinals will be played.”
Other boys high school volleyball:Preview of Tuesday's quarterfinals for 6A, 5A and 4A.
Williams Field entered the playoffs as the No. 1 seeded team in 5A. The team was scheduled to play against No. 16 Sunrise Mountain last Friday, but the AIA announced the cancellation after the Blackhawks violated AIA rules by holding an unauthorized scrimmage during the season. All players on the Williams Field roster were deemed ineligible and the team was forced to withdraw.
The parents were upset by the decision and went to court seeking an injunction.
The winner of the first-round game between Williams Field and Sunrise Mountain will face No. 8 Higley in the quarterfinals. If the Blackhawks win, the game will be played one hour after the first-round game at Williams Field, which will host the quarterfinal game, according to the AIA website. If Sunrise Mountain wins, they will be the higher seed and the game will be played Tuesday at Higley.
Other quarterfinal matchups scheduled for Tuesday night include No. 5 Cienega vs. No. 4 ALA-QC. No.11 Willow Canyon vs. No.3 Canyon View. No. 7 ALA-Gilbert North vs. No. 2 Castile.