With the gym roaring with students and parents alike, the Corona del Sol Aztecs defeated the Perry Pumas, 3-2 in a back-and-forth match on September 19, 2019 at Corona del Sol High School in Tempe, Arizona.

Screams from both student sections erupted as each team would go in a requital style of scoring; as soon as Corona scored, Perry would score, and vice versa, for most of the game.

The Pumas started out on a hot streak in the first set by having the biggest lead of the night, 22-12. Consistent kills from Tatum Stall and sideouts by Corona led to this scoring streak. Corona found their groove after a slow start, however, by coming back and scoring seven unanswered points, but the Pumas pulled out with a win of 25-20.

Assistant Coach/Statistician Nicole Wagner said the girls played well in the first set, shifting the momentum of the game with multiple blocks. “We had a lot of blocks in that first set. It kind of gets you hyped. Our blocking was really good in that set and we had a couple of good serving runs, one by Makayla [Long] and one by Tatum [Stall], so that set the tone,” said Wagner.

Ella Rud had the most kills for the night, finishing with 20. Stall was right behind with 18 kills and three aces as well. Makayla Long also finished with five blocks for the Pumas.

Corona came back with vengeance in the second set, narrowly defeating the Pumas 23-25. The Corona del Sol libero also had a diving dig into her teams’ bench that sent Corona fans in a frenzy. With the Corona del Sol fans getting hyped up, Coach Fred Mann said the players thrived in a loud gym and this pumped up the Pumas even more. “I thought it [the crowd] was great. We love to be in a loud, obnoxious gym,” said Mann.

A block by Avery Burks sealed the victory for the Pumas in the third set, but the Aztecs were determined to even the score, and took advantage of the Pumas errors in the fourth set.

In the fifth set, winner takes all, both teams were playing their hearts out and kept it close in the beginning. However, costly errors by the Pumas and a scoring run of eight points led the Aztecs to victory, 15-6, in the end as students stormed the court.

Assistant Coach Brian Wagner said passing errors were to blame in the last two sets for the Pumas. “I think we got a little one dimensional just having to set the outsides. Our passing fell apart at the end. We needed to hit a few more serves. We were serving pretty well, then we started missing a few serves late in the fourth and then in the fifth. That makes it hard to win,” said Wagner.

The Pumas will look to bounce back against Sandra Day O’Connor Eagles on September 24, 2019 at 6 pm at Perry High School.