Jaden Taylor is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism Student assigned to cover Highland High School for AZPreps365.com

In their fifth consecutive match against a top-15 opponent, the No. 10 Highland Hawks (22-6, 8-3) proved to be playoff-ready in a four-set win over No. 13 Desert Vista (9-7, 4-5) on Tuesday night.

Once again, the state’s second most prominent outside hitter Zoe John led the way with 16 kills, helping the Hawks win 25-18, 26-24, 24-26, 25-19. 

Even in a four-set, seemingly convincing match, Highland was forced to dig itself out of early holes. The Hawks included a 7-2 run in the first set, a 10-4 run in the second set, and a 6-2 run in the fourth set to finish the match over the Thunder.

"Once you're three points down or three points up, it's a make-or-break type of thing in a game,” John said. “You can either choose to isolate and become six individuals or become a team and I think our team is built on such good relationships that we have complete trust with each other.”

John’s night was primarily filled with back-row attacks, leading to her 16th match this season with double-digit kills. The senior, a University of Pacific commit, is known for her power as a three-year varsity starter, but the adjustment to working primarily in the back row is just another experience to broaden her game.

“I think with every game, the first pipe set I always get (set to me) – I'm a little iffy about it,” John said. “But once you get into it, it's just like you're hitting it in the front row.”

Along with John’s continued presence, Highland provided power and punch across its entire roster. Seven different Hawks players recorded a kill in the match with two being freshmen. For senior setter Addie Garn, the plethora of options at her disposal has brought the team together.

“I couldn't say enough good about these people really. Everyone knows what they want to do,” Garn said. “I feel like I can trust anybody on the court and they're ready to play. Everybody comes on and they're just immediately ready to play and ready to get the ball like they're hungry for everything.”

Running a 6-2 formation and dealing with some injuries, the deep attacking unit on Highland’s bench has provided much-needed help for head coach Tait Neilson and his team, one that’s deep into conference play.

"You're on varsity for a reason, right? We trust all of them to come in and make a play,” Neilson said. “And yeah, even the freshmen that we have, we're really excited about and we trust them to come in and make a play for us."

As battle-tested as coach Neilson and his Hawks are, the rest of the schedule does not get much easier. In their final six conference matches of the regular season, the Hawks will have five up against Top 15 opponents. For Neilson, he welcomes the challenge.

“We love it,” Neilson said. “Honestly we don't want to just destroy teams. That's not really beneficial. We'd love to win but we want to play tough teams. We love that we play tough teams because we know when you get to playoffs it's go time and it's you gotta you have to prove it.”

Following the win, Highland will head back home for another top-10 matchup against No. 8 Desert Ridge (11-6, 9-2) on Thursday, Sept. 28 at 6 p.m.


Key: (Overall Record, AIA Match Record)