Braeden Steele is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Valley Lutheran High School for AZPreps365.com

After a lengthy five-set win over Lincoln Prep on Tuesday night, Valley Lutheran (9-4) had little time to rest before their match against Desert Heights Prep (4-7) the next day.

The Flames head coach Stacy Parker stressed that the team needed to rest and focus up. 

"Last night's match against Lincoln Prep was a win for us, but it went five sets," Parker said. "The girls will have to refocus mentally tonight and also probably work through some fatigue since they played a long match yesterday."

Valley Lutheran must have listened because the Flames didn't show any tired legs as they routed the Coyotes in straight sets on their home court.

The Flames began the game with a strong 4-0 start in the first set, and held on to their momentum as they cruised to a 25-14 victory. The second set was much more competitive as the Coyotes opened with a 6-2 advantage, which stretched into an 11-6 deficit for the Flames. But they stayed focused and attacked the middle of the floor as they took full control of the set from that moment and won 25-18. 

The decisive third set was even more competitive, as the Flames and Coyotes went back and forth for several until Valley Lutheran took a commanding 19-14 lead. Despite a late run by the Coyotes, the Flames finished strong with a 25-20 victory.  

The team was led in kills by senior middle hitter Kerrigan Douglas's 14 and junior outside hitter Xochitl Sanchez had 13. Junior setter Riley Parker finished the game with 28 assists and four kills as she played a key role in the Flames offense racking up 35 kills, including senior OH Maddie Brooks and junior MH Ava Hiland combining for four. 

"I try my best to get a hand on everything so I can get it to the hitter," Riley Parker said.

The Flames have had to work Sanchez into the starting lineup this year. She was a transfer and had to sit the first half of the season because of the transfer rule. When asked about the team’s performance Wednesday night, Sanchez honed in on coach Parker's message to the team. 

"We were just trying to work on communication and fixing errors we had made in the previous games," Sanchez said. “We need to remember to talk more, try not to get frustrated with each other and remember to have fun, because at the end of the day it’s a game and we have lots of them.” 

Coming off a back-to-back, the team wasn't as tired going into the game as they were excited for what a win would mean for their confidence. According to Parker, the team needed this win moving forward to set the stage for the rest of their season.  

“I think it definitely raised our morale and our confidence going into our game next week and the final two games after that,” Parker said.

The Flames will travel to play Dishchii'bikoh Community School on Oct. 14 at 5 p.m.. They are looking to potentially tie Cicero Prep for first place in the 1A East Division.