Ari Wohl is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Phoenix Christian for AZPreps365.com

The Phoenix Christian Cougars (9-6) defeated the Highland Prep Honey Badgers (5-13) in four sets (25-14, 16-25, 25-21, 25-14) on Thursday night. Phoenix Christian finishes its regular season as the 2A Central region's third-ranked team.

Four of the Cougars' seniors Nancy Felix, Brooklynne Blake, Grace Fisher, and Honestye Russell were honored prior to the game for Senior Night. The team also hosted a pregame dinner and shared memories from the season.

Felix recognized the nerves among the team to win their final home game of their high school careers.

“Even though we had jitters and all that, we were still mentally focused,” Felix said. “We all wanted to win so that gave us motivation to push on the court and get us going.”

The first set was back and forth early, and neither team's lead was more than than two points. Then, with the score tied at nine, the Cougars won 11 of the next 12 points and secured the opening set victory.

First-year head coach Anissa Edouard noticed the team’s increased excitement during the opening set which led to their strong performance.

“They were clearly excited that it was senior night, so I think they came out with that fresh energy in the first set,” Edouard said.

The Honey Badgers bounced back in the second set as they held the Cougars to 16 points and tied the match at one set apiece.

“Sometimes you just get a little too comfortable on the court, so I saw a little bit of that with my girls,” Edouard said.

The Cougars were in trouble again early in the third set, which they lost the first five points. Phoenix Christian mounted a comeback and went on a 12-7 run following an early timeout by the Honey Badgers. Then, with the Cougars up 20-17, the Honey Badgers called another timeout.

Edouard encouraged to team to pick it up and continue fighting to finish the set. Her words of encouragement helped the Cougars to win the set and head into the fourth with a chance to win.

Felix began the fourth set with four straight aces and the Cougars never looked back. Phoenix Christian led 19-12 when Edouard called a timeout.

“Overall, I felt like my girls just needed to take a breath to focus their energy again, and be able to finish it, which they did,” Edouard said.

The Cougars won the final set 25-14 and gave the seniors a victory in their send-off.

Edouard took advantage of their previous encounter against the Honey Badgers on Sept. 26, which the Cougars won in five sets, and she prepared for their improvement accordingly.

“As the season progresses, each team will start to get better. So, I took a look back at film… and I was able to adjust my offense and my defense during practices,” Edouard said.

Following the win, senior Brooklynne Blake shared one of her favorite memories from this season.

“One of my favorite memories was probably the ASU game when we all went as a team,” Blake said.

The Cougars will likely miss the playoffs, but the future is bright as the team amassed its most wins in a season since 2019.