Mac Friday is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Horizon Honors for AZPreps365.com

Facing an opponent all too familiar, the Horizon Honors girls volleyball team looked to jumpstart their 2019 campaign with a victory over nearby rival Valley Christian.  

The two schools, which sit on opposite sides of I-10 and are separated by less than two miles, have met each other nine times in the past six years. The Eagles have held the advantage in the series, besting the Trojans in each of their previous four matchups. However, on Thursday night, their grasp on the rivalry was pried open.

Horizon Honors was unable to corral the powerful offense of Valley Christian and was swept by their rivals, 25-18, 25-7, 25-12.

In the first set, the teams traded blows, each embarking on significant scoring runs. Down 20-11, the Eagles surged back to put themselves within striking distance, but a decisive kill from Valley Christian senior Breanna Brooks ended the set and dashed their chances of a comeback.

After a deflating end to the first set, Horizon Honors woes continued into the second and third sets. For the majority of that time, the Eagles defense struggled to respond to the Trojans robust offense by committing costly hitting errors and miscommunicating on several digs and attacks.

Despite the overall struggles, the performance of senior outside hitter and captain Jordan Cook shined. Cook tallied nine kills and a pair of digs on the night. She provided nearly all of the Eagles’ scoring during the second and third sets of the match.

“Jordan is our offense right now,” head coach Kris Maglunog said. “She is our top scorer, so we try to go to her whenever we need to.”

Despite her success, Cook’s opportunity to be the standout piece in the Eagles offense comes at a high price.

One of the returning players from last year’s team, senior outside hitter and captain Camryn Marshall, recently sprained her LCL in practice.

With Marshall sidelined, Cook and her fellow captain, senior libero Madison Rowlee, have their hands full with providing on- and off-court leadership to a team full of new faces.

“As captains, it’s our job to step up and help our team become leaders and control the court,” Cook said.

The team graduated five seniors last spring and out of the eight seniors on the roster, four are new.

“A lot of the players on the team are brand new to varsity or are underclassmen, so it’s a totally new environment for them,” senior captain and libero Madison Rowlee said. “We need to work on our self-confidence and focus on playing together as a whole.”

Going forward, Kris Maglunog’s squad will face Benjamin Franklin High School Tuesday, Chandler Prep Wednesday and the team that bested the Eagles in last year’s state championship tournament, Fountain Hills Thursday.