Scottsdale Prep junior outside hitter Samantha Ferro’s 11 kills led the Spartans over Rock High School in a 3-1 match in front of a rowdy gymnasium Tuesday night. 

Scottsdale Prep, now 10-6, came out in the first set a little slow, and both teams went back and forth until the 11th point, when the Lady Spartans started a 6-point run. Three points into the Lady Spartans run, the Scorpions called a timeout to regroup.Freshman outside hitter Claire Eastlack showed her serving strength as she helped the team on their run with three aces. Ferro also helped the team on their run with two kills.

Junior outside hitter Ruby McClain had two kills to help the Lady Spartans win the set. Freshman opposite hitter Ava Collins added an ace and sophomore middle blocker Sharlot Walther contributed a kill, which helped the Lady Spartans close out the first set 25-16. 

The Lady Spartans started out the second set a little slow, yet again. The Lady Scorpions started out the set with the first two points, followed by the Lady Spartans four-point run that was ended by the Lady Scorpions three-point run. The Lady Spartans struggled in this set, as the Lady Scorpions went on to have three different three-point runs and a strong four-point run, which led to the Lady Spartans calling timeout down 18-10. The Lady Scorpions pulled through and ended up winning the second set, 25-18.

After a rough second set, the Lady Spartans came out fast, taking a three-point lead in the third set. The Lady Scorpions came back and evened out the score at 10. Lady Spartans head coach Dan Chen called a timeout at the tie, where he hyped his team up to a six-point run. The game play was long and intense during the Lady Spartans run, which helped them fight even more. That led them to another six-point run. McClain showed that she doesn’t just have a killer spike but also a killer serve and helped the team on their run with two aces. Shortly after the Lady Spartans' run ended, they came back with another eight point-run, where they finished the set winning 25-14.

With the Lady Spartans up 2-1 heading into the fourth set., they finally found their rhythm and went on a six-point run to take a 19-12 lead. Ferro had two kills to help the run.

The Lady Scorpions foughtback and went on a five-point run, making it closer at 22-19. The Lady Spartans quickly responded and finished out the set strong, going on a four point run to win the set and the match, 25-19. 

Ferro’s performance brought a lot of energy and helped her teammates come together.

“I feel like when one person brings up the whole team, it brings everyone’s energy up and once everyone’s energy is up they connect, play better and just have more fun on the court and it just brings a lot of good energy,” Farro said.

Senior captain Katie Holford feels a lot of pressure being a libero, but kept her energy high in the game.

“I would say there is a lot more pressure being a libero because we’re supposed to be the leader of the defense so it's our main job to communicate with the whole defense,” Holford said.

Chen was proud of his team after pulling off the win, but at times throughout the game the team was visibly stressed.

“They just need to concentrate more on every single play. Sometimes they lose their focus and we do it a lot when we let teams back in. We play really well when we are concentrating,” Chen said.

The Lady Spartans next match is Friday where they will face Scottsdale Christain Academy at home.