Alex McKinley is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Marcos de Niza High School for AZPreps365.com.

TEMPE -- Despite their valiant efforts, Marcos de Niza (MdN) High School fell short to the American Leadership Academy in three sets Thursday night, 25-7, 25-12, 25-13, in girls volleyball action.

It was both Parents' Night  and Pink-out Night for the Padres. Showing their support for breast cancer awareness, the players were seen warming up with pink paint on their legs and glitter in their hair. The gym was covered in pink ribbons and decorations. The stands were full of students flaunting bright pink balloons and parents ready to cheer on their kids.

Entering this game the Padres (4-15) were looking to turn their season around. This would be no small task, as the Patriots were sitting at 15-2. The Padres were trying to play the short game. “We tried to mix it up a little,” stated head coach Kerry Morgan. “Hit the short game instead of just hitting it into the back, we tried to go for more tips.” 

“Here we go, Padres” chants erupted from the student section as MdN began the match  serving and the cheering continued throughout the beginning of the first set. The Padres struggled, quickly falling behind 8-2. That was the theme of the first set for the Padres, who only scored seven points.

That didn't stop team captain Emma Orndorf from hyping her team up. “Come on,” shouted Orndorf. “You got it.”

In the second set the tall, athletic Patriot lineup would prove to be too much as they took a 614-6 lead. The Padre libero, Zoey Arner, remained unrelenting as she could be seen diving around the court trying to keep the ball alive. The Padres finished out the set scoring a few points off errors by the Patriots, but ultimately lost 25-12.

The third set escalated quickly. After a few mistakes from their opponent and an electric spike from Orndorf set up by fellow captain Jazmyn Vital the Padres only trailed by one, 5-4. Jazmyn Vital sets the ball for her teammate (Alex McKinley/AZPreps365)

Down in the match 2-0, the Padres strived to remain motivated. “I try to tell them not to get down on themselves,” said Orndorf. “It’s a team sport so I tell them all to keep going or keep working.”

The third set is where the Padres scored their most points. A bad serve and a couple of blocks gave the Padres a quick 3-2 lead. The score stayed close, after a few miscues from the Patriots and an ace from Arner the Padres only trailed 8-7.

The Padres fought with the Patriots, keeping the score close. Sophomore Julianna Romero, who played well in the second set, had a huge block which aided the Padres. The Patriots made a few mistakes, a violation for touching the net and a serve sent deep out of bounds helped the Padres stay in the game.

The Padres let up five points during the third set, making it hard to recover. They continued to hustle and keep their energy up but after a few bad serves and some quick points from the Patriots the score quickly got out of hand as the Padres would go on to lose the final set 25-13.