Sydney Renfro is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism Student assigned to cover Carl Hayden High School for AZPreps365.com

Ashley Lazcano, team captain of the Carl Hayden Falcons, had many amazing plays despite losing 0-3 in a home match against the Maryvale Panthers. On Tuesday night the Falcons played the Panthers in a home game, losing the sets 25-16, 25-8, 25-13. The team dropped to 0-10 for the season. 

Before starting the third set, in a team huddle, coach Rafael Daniel let the girls discuss what they needed to work on. “You need to call passes,” said libero Alexadra Vergara. “You guys need to help her and talk louder.”

Vergara encouraged the team to not rely solely on Lazcano and to ensure they were all working to get there just as hard.

Lazcano plays as an outside hitter and is well known for her powerful spikes. She had many notable saves, dives and blocks throughout the match. In the second set, Lazcano and Vergara ran after the ball to save it as it went outside close to the stands. Vergara dove and got the ball up. Right behind her was Lazcano, who could not play the ball without falling over her teammate, so she quickly dove over her instead. They helped each other up, laughing. In the next play, she continued to dive after the ball, constantly dropping to the floor to get it. 

In the second set, Arabella Bergen began by focusing on her blocks. She and Mariel Herrera attempted to get up in the air whenever the ball came close to the net. Bergen had a notable play in the set where she could block a tip from the Panthers setter. 

Last week against Cibola High School, Bergen got what she described as one of the best blocks of her career. However, she also pulled a muscle in her lower back on that same block. Now, Bergen is working on therapy and treatment after school.

“They did shock therapy,” she said. “They were relaxing my muscles, and then we did cupping, which leaves these huge, purple bruises on my back. I have four of them right now.” 

Bergen is still unsure about how long it will take to recover. She’s worried about how this will affect her season.

“I'm actually scared and nervous that I won't be able to play,” she said. “That's why I was nervous about today. ... I'm worried that if I play today and make it worse, then I won't be able to play the rest of this season.”

She said that she hopes to be able to play in the senior night game at the end of the season. 

Throughout the match, setter Bryana Lopez constantly supported and encouraged teammates. Lopez mentioned that many players get in their heads during the sets. She said that sometimes they quickly get upset with each other, and that’s why things go wrong.

“If you calm down and just let it out positively,” she said. “And tell them it's fine [and that] we got the next point, then everybody will remain good. We [will] have a higher chance of beating the team.”

As the setter, Lopez remained in the game throughout the whole match. She had multiple successful tips, serves and saves. 

Faith Nieto was a starter in each match and played as a middle block. In the second set, she and Aymar Penuelas jumped to block a hit from the Panthers, winning the point for the Falcons. She also had multiple dives to save the ball.

“It's not only about winning,” she said. “It's also about having fun and doing your best for the team. That’s what would help make us win.”