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

After a 2-0 start to the season, Cesar Chavez stumbled into a five-game losing streak. Now, having won three of their last four matches, the Champions seem to be gaining momentum heading into the latter part of the season.

“We’re getting back on track,” Champions coach Eureka Hall said. “(Tonight’s win) let me know that we’re making progress and the chemistry is there a little bit more. I feel like we’re getting to our peak… we already showed we can play with the top-ranked girls in the state. We’re right there with them.”

Cesar Chavez only needed three sets (25-20, 25-19, 25-22) to hand West Point its third loss in a row and fifth in its last six matches. 

Hall utilized a rotation of 11 players to tire out the short-handed Dragons, whose starting setter, Sophia Chanez, suffered a knee injury during pregame warmups and sat out the match. 

Senior Gabriella Romero continues to perform well for the Champions, accumulating 32 of the team’s 33 assists in Thursday’s match.

Senior twins Elizabeth and Isabella Hermosillo posted a combined 19 kills and five aces. Elizabeth’s 12 kills led all players, and her three aces were a team-high.

Seniors Romero, Kennedy Roberts, and Tiare Goss all generated multiple aces as well, adding to the team’s total of 11.

Despite losing all three sets, the Dragons kept things interesting. After trailing 15-7 in the first set, West Point outscored the Champions 13-9 before giving up the match point on an error.

Cesar Chavez then took an 8-1 lead in the second set, but the Dragons again cut into the deficit, shortening the lead to two by way of a 10-5 run. The Champions ultimately pulled ahead again, never letting the Dragons back into the set.

The Dragons only managed to lead on four separate occasions throughout the match. After leading 3-2 during the first set, they wouldn’t take another lead until the third set, when they took leads of 1-0, 3-2, and 21-20.

Cesar Chavez led most of the third set, looking like they were going to cruise to an easy three-set sweep when they opened a 20-16 lead. A serving error and three straight aces by Dragons senior Ayanna-rae’ Leblanc forced the Champions to take a timeout tied at 20. 

One of junior Chariyah Curry’s match-leading two blocks gave the Dragons their 21-20 lead, but kills from each of the Hermosillo twins and a Roberts ace put the Champions back in front 23-21. 

This forced Dragons coach Lynneis Myers to take a timeout of her own.

“Just stay focused,” Myers said to her team during that timeout. “Play your game. That’s all you can do. Get out there, battle the point, and play hard. At the end of the day, no matter how we come off the court, as long as we played 100%, I’m fine with it.”

The Dragons cut the lead to one after the timeout, but the Champions took the next two points, the set, and the match. 

For their part, West Point showed some great resilience to keep each of the sets within striking distance. One thing that hurt them was errors. The Dragons accumulated 30 errors - 10 per set - to Cesar Chavez’ 16 total. 

The Dragons shined when it came to dominating the net, however. They didn’t allow the Champions a single block, and their three blocks didn’t accurately represent how many they might have had if the Champions’ defense not been so good at keeping blocked shots in play.

“Blocking and covering our defense is probably one of our number one strategies,” Myers said. “It’s mainly just covering and reading the hitters. If we can protect the front of the court, we can defend the back part of the floor.”

The Dragons received well-rounded performances from a number of players. Leblanc added seven kills, an assist and a block to her match-leading five aces. Curry added six kills and two aces to her two blocks. Senior Jocelyn Salazar stepped up to lead the team with 19 kills, and junior Malaea Thompson tied Leblanc for a team-high seven kills.

Cesar Chavez (5-6) visits the Shadow Ridge Stallions (6-4) on Monday at 6 p.m..

West Point (4-6) hosts the Valley Vista Monsoon (5-5) on Monday at 6 p.m..