Damian Rios is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover St. Mary's Catholic High School for AZPreps365.com

PHOENIX- Paradise Honors High School penetrated the armor of the St. Mary's Knights during Thursday night's match, emerging triumphant after five sets: 25-22, 15-25, 25-21, 17-25, 15-7.

Balloons, families, and the always energetic student section filled the stands for St. Mary’s senior night. Coach September Lopez introduced her seniors before the match and gave a heartfelt speech to her squad before the action commenced. 

“Here is my message to you: Thank you for your hard work, dedication, and commitment,” said Lopez. “For the laughs, for the tears, for the coffee and the 50 gray hairs you have given me.” 

Of the 12 varsity players, half were seniors, leaving the remaining six to continue the program's growth next year. St. Mary's starters were ecstatic during Thursday's match“I'm excited but it's definitely bittersweet because this team is really family and so is the program,” said fourth-generation St. Mary’s senior Ella Fahrendorf, who has played varsity since her sophomore year. “It’s definitely sad to leave.”

Tuesday night's match was a tense one for both teams, with lots of cheers and boos coming from both sides.

In the schools' first meeting since the Knights beat the Panthers on September 11th during a tournament, the Panthers exacted their revenge.

The home squad started strong, but ultimately lost the lead and the opening set 25-22. The Knights did not surrender and, buoyed by a positive attitude, led throughout the second set and cruised to a 25-15 win.  

At the end of the set, one of the officials approached the scorekeepers to announce that she was unable to continue. The official claimed a sensitivity to fluorescent lights. After a prolonged pause, the match continued with one referee. 

The Panthers led 19-9 before the ferocious girls of St. Mary’s embarked on 12-5 run to narrow the deficit to 24-21. The comeback stalled, however, and the Knights were unable to steal the set from the Panthers, who won 25-21 to go up 2-1 heading to the fourth set. 

In the longest set of the match, the teams would trade point for point, back and forth, until the senior girls made a push towards the end to win 25-17. 

It all came down to a heart-wrenching fifth set. The match was tied 2-2, with the tie-breaker set decided at 15 points. It looked as if the Panthers would trounce the Knights early, as the visitors jumped out to a 6-2 lead. The Knights were unrelenting, though, tying the set at seven. The Panthers proved indomitale, however, winning 15-7.

The seniors shined during the loss. Team captain Spirit Phipps played all five sets. Phipps, who is fourth in the 4A division in digs, had 17 to go along with 13 kills and an astounding 33 assists. Fellow senior Michele Galindo recorded 27 assists, 21 digs and once ace. Galindo holds the school's single-season record for assists with 429.  

A sad day for the seniors at St. Mary’s, but their season is not over. The Knights are currently ranked 16th out of 24 programs in 4A and will have a conference playoff game the first week of November.