J. Wilder Adams is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Notre Dame Preparatory High School for AZPreps365.com.

The Notre Dame Preparatory Saints girls volleyball team bounced back after a tough loss Monday against the Cactus Shadows Falcons in the biggest way, defeating the Desert Mountain Wolves, 3-0.

That loss Monday was the first home defeat in two years for the Saints (14-4). 

Following the rare home setback, the Saints came into Desert Mountain (14-12) Wednesday night with rediscovered energy.

“We were a little more fiery,” Saints senior setter Lexi Yoza said. “(We were) A little more determined to get back at it.”

That fire and determination was felt in the pregame. 

“Our pregame was really good. Just screaming and dancing with each other.” Saints junior outside hitter Evan Hendrix said. “That was one of the best pregames we have ever had.”

The first set started a little shaky for the Saints. though.

They trailed, 5-2, as their defense allowed three aces. After that stint, the Saints took the lead, and for the most part, steadily maintained it even when the Wolves kept clawing its way back into the game. 

That composure is a representation of the team morale.

“We talk about faith over fear,” Notre Dame Prep head coach Holly McLean said. “We accept mistakes, we expect them. You move on.”

One of the core reasons for Monday’s loss was the struggle to serve the ball effectively. 

Against the Wolves, it was a different story. 

“We had that exact conversation (about the serving struggles), which has been the conversation since the beginning of the season.”  McLean said. “We forgot about that and had to come back to our gameplan. I feel like we executed that gameplan well.”

Throughout the game, the erupting echoes of cheer was evident inside the Wolves’ gymnasium. A great portion of that noise was coming from the Saints cheering section. 

That ignition was a reflection of the total team effort from top to bottom. The names of a variety of players on the Saints roster were chanted following pools of great plays executed by many players.

Two players who really stood out were Hendrix and Yoza. 

Hendrix, an Texas Christian University commit and No. 1 player in Arizona in the class of 2024 according to Maxpreps, must have left a dent on that gym floor with her 27 kills. 

Yoza set up several of Hendrix's kills as the Temple commit tallied 28 assists. 

The connection between the two was felt early. Hendrix had an astonishing 10 kills in the first set, and a real chunk of them were beautifully set up by Yoza. 

Those two closed out the match with Hendrix on the kill assisted by none other than Yoza. 

That chemistry between Hendrix and Yoza comes from a temple of trust built from having played together since they were ages 14 and15. 

“We have a lot of trust,” Hendrix said. “She can just put a ball up there and I have confidence that I can hit the ball in and score most of the time.”

The biggest contributing factor to this victory went beyond the box score.

It was a reflection of the intangibles of the players playing in that Saints uniform. 

“They’re just very mature,” McLean said. “Even though some of them are young, they're still mature in the sense that they know matches aren’t won by a few points.”