Hayden Cilley is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Deer Valley High School for AZPreps365.com 

GLENDALE-- The Deer Valley Skyhawks began their journey to the 4A state championship in a dominant way by sweeping the Sahuaro Cougars 25-9, 25-18 and 25-9 Tuesday night.

After a sweep last week to close out the regular season, Deer Valley, the No. 9 seed, sought to secure a spot in the region state championship against Sahuaro, seeded 24th.

The first set displayed the overwhelming talent of the Skyhawks, as an assist from senior setter Emee Fellens set up a kill from senior outside hitter Liz Rupp for an early 7-2 lead. Sahuaro showed resilience when it took advantage of serving errors and cut the deficit to three. Once the blue-and-white limited the mistakes, however, they scored seven consecutive points, highlighted by two kills from outside hitter Sam Gloria. The junior would end the game by scoring two aces to give the Skyhawks a convincing win, 25-9.

Sahuaro in the second set was tenacious. The Cougars got off to a 1-0 lead, something the Cougars didn’t have in the previous set. Both teams vacillated between scoring and being scored upon, as neither was able to stray more than one point ahead of or behind the other in the early stages.

 Then senior opposite hitter Alana Barajas had two aces, part of a 6-0 Deer Valley run that gave it a 10-4 advantage. An anomaly for the Cougars or an omen for the Skyhawks? The latter. Another assist by Fellens set up a kill by junior middle back Amanda Hardt to put a finishing touch on the set, 25-18.

After taking video of his daughter Emee, John Fellens expressed how her leadership continues to improve, day in and day out. “A lot of it comes from her experience playing volleyball,” Fellens said. “Emee gives great feedback to her teammates. If they beat themselves up about an error, she’s right there to pump them up.”

Deer Valley was a leviathan in the third set. Senior outside hitter Liz Rupp found her groove as she had three kills to open the set and two of those were assisted by Fellens. After going up 4-1 to start, there was an inevitable ending. The Skyhawks were garrulous but still understood the task at hand. Gloria had three sets that would put the hopes of the Cougars to rest. An attack error by Sahuaro gave Deer Valley the win, 25-9. 

Fellens' acumen was on full display as she had 27 assists on the night. While that number stands out, head coach Jackie Wallace understands the game is about more than one player. “Emee is a gamer,” Wallace explained. “At the same time though, this win is a total team effort.”

Total team effort. It explains the Skyhawks past two victories, both of which were sweeps. In that team effort comes preparation, preparation and more preparation. “We watch film, do our research and never underestimate any team,” Wallace said. “Every game is like we’re 0-0.”

Deer Valley (#9 seed) enters the first round of the 4A State Championship and will play Thursday. The Skyhawks’ opponent is yet to be determined.