Mac Friday
ASU Student Journalist

Fresh faces launch Horizon Honors to victory

September 26, 2019 by Mac Friday, Arizona State University


Hale serves for Horizon Honors against Coronado. (Mac Friday/AZPreps365)

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


With senior outside hitter Camryn Marshall recovering from an LCL sprain and senior middle blocker Mya Smith suffering foot and ankle problems, Horizon Honors went into Thursday's game against Coronado  hurting from the lack of depth.
 
Despite this, coach Kris Maglunog preached the mentality of “next man up.” His team responded.
 
Every player in an Eagles uniform received playing time and every player contributed to a decisive 3-0 sweep, their first home victory since Oct. 30, 2018.


Two freshmen, setter Allyssa Gauer, and middle Jade Collins, each turned in excellent performances against the Dons. Collins, who was called up from junior varsity before last weekend’s tournament in Snowflake, has recorded 31 kills over a nine-game span.
 
Seniors Allison Hale and Camryn Dunn who are also new to the varsity level this year started the game and contributed to the winning effort.
 
However, the standout performer was sophomore outside hitter Liz Stover, who couldn’t seem to stop flinging perfectly placed kills towards the Dons.
 
“Just being out there with everyone was awesome,” Stover said. “We’ve worked really hard to get to this point; it was just fun being a family out there. No one stayed on the bench, everyone was out on the court with us.”
 
Senior outside hitter and captain Jordan Cook, who leads the team in kills and aces, recently took Stover under her wing after she was brought up to varsity.
 
“It was really cool seeing all the freshmen and then especially Liz, shine in this game,” Cook said. “We haven’t really been able to let them stand out, so it was a nice change.”
 
The Eagles look to ride the wave of confidence into their fall break, taking a week off before they face Odyssey Institute on Oct. 7.