Jackson Shaw is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Paradise Valley High School for AZPreps365.com

Paradise Valley girls volleyball fell 3-0 in a hard-fought match against visiting Sunrise Mountain Mustangs Wednesday night in Phoenix. 

After just completing the first half of their season, the Trojans got off to a rocky start. Following a disappointing record last year (9-19), Paradise Valley (4-10) started at a .500 record through its first four matches, but is coming off four consecutive conference losses. The Trojans did not catch a break as they faced Sunrise Mountain, which sits atop the 5A Northwest. 

The Trojans came out swinging in the first set, as senior Lauren Patentreger led off with a couple of big hits, putting them up 2-0. But the Mustangs responded quickly and the first timeout was with Sunrise Mountain leading 9-4.

The rest of the first set was an all-around show from Trojans senior Amanda Plisko. She halted a 7-1 Mustangs run with a high-powered hit down the right sideline, immediately followed by an ace. Although Plisko is listed as an outside hitter, her commanding swing was not the only aspect of her game that impressed the Trojans’ bench. She received multiple powerful hits from the Mustangs’ side of the net, proving to be a valuable asset in the back row as well. 

Plisko and the team embraced the difficulty of playing such a tough team by lifting the pressure of winning off their shoulders and just having fun. 

“I wanted to come out and play strong and just have a good time playing," Plisko said. “It’s a really good team that we played, but because they’re so good, we can have a better time playing.”

A couple of Mustang errors and another powerful kill from Plisko gave the Trojans the lead early in the second set. However, it was senior libero Rhiannon Boesl who looked like the backbone of this Trojans team. Boesl was all over the defensive end, doing all she could to receive against a hard-hitting Mustangs team. 

“I kind of just tell myself, instead of trying to be perfect at everything, just do my job which is to not let anything hit the floor,” Boesl said. 

Despite Boesl’s efforts, the Sunrise Mountain hitting duo of Emily Pruitt and Brooke Barrois proved too strong as they racked up a couple kills to end the second set and go up 2-0. 

“It’s fun to block and dig those, and not let them get a kill every time,” head coach Jessica Spencer said. “Mentally, we’ve been focusing on toughness and what you can control and what you can’t control on and off the court. That was especially the goal for today.”

During the third set, the Mustangs began to run away with it, but the Trojans’ spirits never dropped. A late kill from junior Rylee Mogalian was the final effort, as Sunrise Mountain closed out the match shortly after. 

The Trojans will now prepare for back-to-back matches against Willow Canyon and Apollo Oct. 2-3 before heading into their fall break.