Tom Aizenberg is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism graduate student assigned to cover North High School for AZPreps365.com

PHOENIX -- North High School lost to visiting South Mountain in three sets Tuesday night, 27-25, 25-14, 25-20. The defeat was the sixth consecutive for the Mustangs and the fourth in their last five that lasted only three sets.

In the first set of the match, North opened up an 11-2 lead and even held a 17-11 lead. However, South Mountain did not let up and managed to come back from both those large deficits to take a narrow 27-25 victory. The Jaguars never looked back, winning the last two sets by a combined 16 points to secure their second consecutive victory.

"Honestly it's attitude," North head coach Aviana Dominguez said. "I would say we have a lot of athletes on the team but our attitude is not it. As soon as we make a mistake we come down and then there's no way to bring it back up."

Despite having a huge advantage in terms of bench play, the Mustangs tired early. The Jaguars, meanwhile, managed to play with practically no bench for three entire sets. The only bench player for South Mountain was sophomore Ernesto Payan, who did not see any action until midway through the final set.

"He's here on this level more to learn what not to do and once he gets in he's following into the momentum that's already there instead of starting the momentum," said Jaguars coach Falonia Edenburgs/ "Which he doesn't know exactly how to do being a first-year player but he's put in once we get the momentum going." 

South Mountain's energy levels were clearly higher than North's as during a play in the third set, senior striker Marco Rosas dived through the bench to keep a ball in play. The dive did not result in a score for the Jaguars but it was that type of hustle that was the difference on Tuesday night. 

Junior Nicholas Meetze (Number 9) goes for a kill against the South Mountain Jaguars (Tom Aizenberg/AZPreps365)

"What do we need to improve on?" Dominguez asked. "Honestly it's just taking it seriously. Them understanding that they're better than what they're doing on the court. I have a lot of athletes but sometimes it's just not there."

Senior middle hitter Jamerion Scott dominated the small Mustang front as he tallied eight kills and five blocks total. South Mountain's advantage in size and athleticism surely came in handy at keeping higher energy levels throughout the night. 

Edenburgs and the Jaguars,  undermanned due to a lack of bench and being down big early in the very first set, easily could have given up right then and there. But they showed resilience at a time where not every team would have.

"My coaching style is about purpose," Edenburgs said. "The skill is already there. Now my coaching style is 'Why are you touching the ball. What is your purpose?' So now we need to strategize versus just play." 

South Mountain's "play with purpose" philosophy showed in their resilience and effort as they managed to outscore the Mustangs by a staggering 75-48 the rest of the way after their early nine-point deficit. 

North's (3-6) next game will be at home on Wednesday against Liberty (6-8) while South Mountain (2-5) plays Thursday at Maryvale (8-2).