Abby Sharpe is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Higley High School volleyball for AZPreps365.com.

The high energy of both the team and crowd played a big role in Tuesday’s volleyball matchup at Higley High School between rival teams, the Higley Knights (2-4) and the Williams Field Black Hawks (0-6).

The Knights swept the Hawks 3-0 in straight sets to pick up their first conference win this season in three tries. This win marked just their second win this season.

The first set started off strong. The Knights offense was confident in its playing and showed off solid blocking coverage. There were multiple long rallies that emphasized Higley’s improvements that the team has worked on as the season has progressed. Senior outside hitter Brisa Reaves made her presence felt on the court, tallying up multiple aces, passes and kills in the first set.

The Hawks never fully went away, taking advantage of some communication mishaps and free points. Despite Williams Field’s efforts, the Knights held on to win the first set.

Reaves’ success while serving surprised even her.

“I’ll be completely honest, I don’t normally serve like that,” Reaves said, laughing. “I don’t know what was going on. I don’t know how I just did that, but it happened and I’m not complaining.”

Higley’s lack of communication carried into the beginning of the second set. Numerous misplays early led to a close game, neither team letting the other get more than a couple points ahead. Williams Field was making the game tough. However, Higley rebounded about halfway through the set. The score remained close until Reaves really got the offense going. She continually put herself in great position to hit the ball well and produced some of the hardest kills of the night to help Higley seal a second-set win.

Both teams were hunting a third-set win: Higley to ensure a sweep and Williams Field to boost team morale. A strong effort and good rallies by both teams highlighted the set. The Knights offense boasted stronger kills across the board, a sign of how badly the team wanted this win. And they got it.

“It was so nice to beat our rivals and have that support from the student section,” senior middle blocker Julia Price said. “Having that energy really helps the whole environment and makes every point even more fun, knowing our peers are cheering us on. We love winning anytime, but Williams Field is always a fun game and one of the most rewarding.”

As far as Reaves’ play Tuesday, head coach Tyler Kraemer has to take a little credit for her aggressiveness and style of play.

“She finally listened to me,” Kraemer said, laughing. “She’s really good. She did really good today.”

Winning is fun for every team. For this Higley squad, playing means having fun and winning. And playoffs are on players’ minds. Even still, they reset after every matchup to focus only on their next task: the next game.

“We just go game by game,” Reaves said. “Let’s just win this next one.”

The game was thrilling, even with the amount of times the announcer had to request fans to keep their masks on properly. Higley will continue its season on Thursday with another conference game against Gilbert at Gilbert High School.