Josh Bootzin is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Cesar Chavez High School for AZPreps365.com

After Boulder Creek took the first set in Wednesday’s visit to Cesar Chavez High School, the home team bounced back to win the next three and the match behind senior Gabriella Romero’s leadership, passing, and defense.

Romero’s 37 assists and four aces led all players in both statistical categories, and she displayed great poise under pressure by racking up 14 of those assists in the fourth set. 

Champions Coach Eureka Hall singled out Romero’s in-game communication as the part of her game that stood out the most.

“I felt like my captain (Romero), my setter, she spoke up a lot on the floor,” Hall said. “She communicated well with all the attackers. As long as she’s communicating with everybody, everybody functions well on the floor.”

Communication seemed to be the key for the Champions, who assisted on 42 of the team’s 43 total kills. Romero randomized her play-calling to keep the Jaguars’ defense on their toes and shared the ball by setting up a number of different attackers in different looks and angles.

“I’m like, ‘Hey, come on, we’re going to run this, and we’re going to run it quick,’” Romero said. “And when I get it down, it just builds more confidence. I’ve been playing with these girls every day, and I build a connection with them every single day through communicating.”

Romero told her attackers to aim for the back corners, leading to double-digit kills for both senior Elizabeth Hermosillo (14) and junior Nkoyo-may Usoro (11). Senior Amiya Stuart added seven kills of her own to go with three aces. 

Usoro, Hermosillo, and seniors Kennedy Roberts and Isabella Hermosillo added two aces each to help the Champions accumulate 15 aces, compared to only four by the Jaguars.

“We stress that the serves have to be there,” Hall said. “Less errors on us, the better the team will operate. So it’s just building that confidence in the serving. I thought we executed well today.”

The first two sets were very competitive. Set one, which Boulder Creek won 25-21, featured five lead changes, five ties, and neither team led by more than five points.

Cesar Chavez rode a 6-0 run after trailing 14-17 in the second set to tie the match at one apiece with a nail-biting 25-23 victory.

The Champions dominated the rest of the match, taking the third set, 25-11. 

After trailing 17-11 in the fourth set, they turned the game around with a dominant 14-3 run to win 25-20. This run featured all of the Champions’ top players at their best: six Romero assists, three Usoro kills, and two kills and an ace from Elizabeth Hermosillo.

“All my girls kept playing hard the entire time,” Boulder Creek Coach John Bundy said. “It’s just our consistency was off a little bit tonight. But, they stuck in it and didn’t give up. Even when we were down two sets, they kept fighting.”

For their part, the Jaguars controlled the net, accumulating 12 blocks to Cesar Chavez’ four. 

Six-foot sophomore Libby Monson led the match with four blocks to go along with five kills, while 6-foot-2 junior Bria Carlisle and 5-foot-8 senior Ashley Smyth added three blocks each. 

Junior Ava Geyer led the Jaguars’ offense with 11 kills. Carlisle and junior Emilee Thomas added seven kills each. 

Sophomore Kate Crampton led the Jaguars in assists (nine) and aces (two), with four other players tallying at least four assists.