Shirell Washington is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Deer Valley High School for AZPreps365.com. 

Deer Valley was defeated by the Mesquite girls volleyball team at home on Monday after a sweep by the Wildcats, 22-25, 21-25, and 21-25.

Counting tournament matches, the Skyhawks are 3-12.

The Skyhawks were leading in the first set, 13-5, with six kills and two aces until the Wildcats got a little momentum and eventually tied the score,13-13, after an 8-0 run that included three kills and two aces. 

The first set continued with the teams trading points back and forth, keeping the score close, but in the end, Deer Valley dropped the set, 22-25.

Deer Valley coach Jackie Wallace said her team should have won the first set but a lot of mistakes were made. 

“We started with a lead (in the) first game and then we lost the lead,” Wallace said, “and it was a close game and we should’ve won it and then we just made our own mistakes.” 

Hoping to secure the second set, Deer Valley kept the score neck-and-neck until Mesquite started pulling away, eventually leading 16-9 off of four aces, three kills, and a block assist from sophomore middle blocker Meredith Allen and junior outside hitter Payton Schmidt. 

The Skyhawks came back in the latter half of the set after a timeout with the team only down by six,14-20. A kill from sophomore outside hitter Izzy Darnel put the score closer but the Wildcats responded with three points of their own, putting the score at 23-14. However, the Skyhawks put up three points,  making it 23-17, but the Wildcats scored the next point to put the score 24-17.  Not out of it yet, a serving ace from Darnell and a kill from sophomore outside hitter Jaida Teraji pushed the score to 21-24, but it was not enough as the Skyhawks hit the ball out of bounds and awarded the set to Mesquite.

Mesquite coach Carlos Fly said this was not the Wildcats’ best game despite winning the match as the team did not play like they played at the Snowflake Tournament this past weekend.

“We played really well and we won the tournament and I feared there would be a letdown because of that [tournament win] and what you saw today was a letdown,” Flys said. “We did not play anywhere near our best and so even though we won the match, it wasn’t anywhere near our best.
 
“They (Wildcats) were tense and instead of moving their feet, they were collapsing," Flys said. “So if you saw when the other team was attacking the ball or serving, they (Wildcats) collapsed to the ground to make plays as opposed to moving your feet and getting into position.”

The third set had a lot of calls from the officials on both teams. One specific call was made when Mesquite led 22-15. The official ruled that Mesquite went over the net for a block on the second touch. This call halted the game for almost 10 minutes as the officials and coaches discussed the matter. 

“He said that a player cannot go over the net to block on the second touch, which is not correct,” Flys said. “But she never even touched the ball. The ball was hit into the net below her. So, obviously, I got to protest that with the AIA (Arizona Interscholastic Associate).”

The call stood after the discussion.

Much like the later half of the second set, Deer Valley still had some fight left in them as they gained two points off of errors by Mesquite. A point was then made by Mesquite due to a multiple-touches violation (more than three) from Deer Valley, but the Skyhawks returned with a 5-0 run recording a kill by Darnell, a serving ace by junior libero Alisa Kervic, and a blocking assist from junior middle blockers Trinity Jones and Lilah Clark that put them two points away from tying the game, 21-23. 

However, after a timeout, the Wildcats scored the last two points they needed to win the match off a kill from sophomore middle backer Caprice Charlie and a serving ace from senior outside hitter Maggie Pitts.

Darnell said there were things the team needs to work on as they prepare for their upcoming games. 

“For sure our energy and communication,” she said. “ When we get down it’s obvious in our faces and brings the team down so we for sure need to work on staying up as a team and celebrating the little things.”

Deer Valley (3-12) will travel to Estrella Foothills at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Sept 26. Mesquite (8-5, 2-0) will travel to Marcos de Niza at 6 p.m. Wednesday.