Caleb Gottry attends Chandler Preparatory Academy and is a member of the AIA’s Student SID program.

On Saturday, November 14th, the Chandler Prep Titans showcased their usual dominance, knocking the Round Valley Elks out and advancing to the state semi-finals. The Titans faced the Falcons from Veritas Prep, a team they had already beaten in regular season 3-0, in the first round and took care of business winning again in three sets (25-17, 25-17, 25-23). Senior setter Holly Gialketsis said this about the first two matches of state:

“I think we did well other than a couple times when we gave up too many points in a row, but overall, we did what we wanted to do”

Against Round Valley, senior hitter Evi Yates led the team in kills with more than a dozen and also played a stifling blocking game. Yates served skillfully as well with an eight-point service run in the first set and three aces throughout the match.

Round Valley’s ability to keep the ball alive and recover from mistakes made the rallies long, but senior libero Cassi Bronson matched the intensity with several digs for the Titan win.

The Titans won the first set 25-15 after a close first six points. Chandler Prep turned up the intensity for the final two sets, however, never without the lead, winning 25-12 and 25-17. The Titans played their best blocking game in the second set with Yates, seniors Ellie Unruh, and Amanda Stoft, and sophomore Ashlyn Unruh at the net. The third set was riddled with attack errors from both teams, but from the serving line, Gialketsis served three aces for the Titans and freshman Juliet Mason served an ace on match point, taking Chandler Prep to the state semi-finals. Head Coach Jones considers next week’s game against Trivium:

“It’s just a mental aspect. We played really well the first two and a half sets against them, so if we can overcome that hurdle and continue to play well against them, I think we’ll take care of business. We just have to be mentally strong enough to do it.”

The Chandler Prep Titans face Trivium Prep, a team they lost to 2-3 in the regular season, in the state semi-finals on Saturday, November 21 at 10am. Titan Up.