Cavan Malayter is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Horizon Honors for AZPreps365.com

Horizon Honors girls volleyball will return to the court on Thursday as they will hit the road to take on Sequoia Pathway. The two sides will square off in a 2A South showdown with the first serve coming at 5 p.m. 

Horizon Honors enters the match with a record of 21-8 and a 4-0 record in regional play, including tournament wins and losses. The Eagles have won seven out of their last 10 matches and nine consecutive non-tournament matchups, placing them first in the 2A South region. 

“I think our first tournament in Payson was a big team bonding experience,” Horizon Honors head coach Amanda Bors said. “I think that helped us start off and really helped us grow. It helped us come together and play together as a team.” 

Amanda Bors’ side faced off against Sequoia Pathway in a home match on Sept. 12 of this year with Horizon Honors winning the match in straight sets (25-16, 25-23, 25-18). The win for Horizon Honors is part of their still ongoing five-match home winning streak. This home winning streak has given members of the roster added confidence as they hit the road for the first time since Sept. 28. 

“It’s a mindset,” Horizon Honors outside hitter Josephine Rhodes said. “I think it's all in your head. If you can think of it, if you can picture yourself doing it, the more likely you are going to be able to succeed at what you're doing.” 

Rhodes had five kills in the September match against Sequoia Pathway, which tied her team for fourth most on the day. The senior averaged 1.7 kills per set while spending time on the floor in all three sets of the match. 

The match also saw senior Meghan Tuzzolino have a strong night with the swing. The outside hitter was tied for a team-high eight kills in the match to go along with two aces.

Meanwhile, Sequoia Pathway is 5-5 in their last 10 non-tournament matches and with a 12-5 overall record, including tournament wins and losses, they find themselves in fourth place in the 2A South region. 

The Pumas have two players leading the majority of the statistical categories, senior outside hitter Kaliyah Brown and sophomore defensive specialist/libero Alyssa Yon. 

Brown has a team-leading 149 kills through 37 sets played, meaning she averages 4.0 kills per set. While Yon leads the team in aces with 67 and digs with 283. Her 1.7 kills per set and 7.1 digs per set are also good enough to lead the team.

The two-star players were among the few statistical bright spots for Sequoia Pathway in the first matchup against Horizon Honors. Brown finished with 10 kills and one block while Yon only recorded two aces and found herself finishing the match with 14 digs.

Horizon Honors’ ability to limit production from some key producers for Sequoia Pathway was a good sign for Bors’ squad, and she said that it helped create an identity for who they are this season.

“The biggest thing that we learned is if we are playing at our level, it doesn't matter to us who's on the other side of the net,” Bors said. “We do have certain people that we're looking out for and keeping our eyes on, but when we play our game, we feel like we can take on anybody.” 

Bors also added that the team's fall break has given a freshness to the team’s practices this week and the players were happy to have an opportunity to recover from a stretch of nine matches in 11 days before the break. 

“It takes a toll,” Horizons Honors senior Meghan Tuzzolino said. “If you're not taking care of your body, if you're not having regular rest days, then you're not going to perform. I really focused on stretching and things like that, but this little break was nice.”