Max Zepeda is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Desert Mountain High School for AZPreps365.com

There is almost nothing in the high school experience like playing against an archrival. Regardless of the sport, it leads to unbelievable drama, intense moments, and even some controversy.

In Scottsdale, there is probably none more significant than the rivalry between the Desert Mountain Wolves and Chaparral Firebirds, as they clashed on the auxiliary court for some intense late-season volleyball Wednesday.

It was just the third time since 2018 that the rivals met on the Wolves’ home court, and while the crowd was nearly evenly divided in fandom, including an overflowed student section, it could not help Desert Mountain capture victory. Chaparral secured a massive, come-from-behind win in four sets 25-23, 21-25, 25-21, 25-23.

On a night where the Firebirds seized the opportunity, Desert Mountain head coach Dana Achtzehn apparently believed that for the second time this season, it was not their archrivals coming, back but his Wolves blowing the game. They led 20-12 in the fourth in what appeared to be a guarantee that a fifth set would be near. However, Chaparral ended the match on a shocking 13-3 run, driven by both dominance at the net and numerous defensive miscues on the part of Desert Mountain.

“Soon as one or two bad things happen, we crumble,” Achtzehn said. “I was talking to my fellow coaches, and it felt exactly like a repeat of last time, where they were playing like we were down, and we had just given up.”

Desert Mountain came into the night with a few critical changes in the starting lineup, as Corynne Hausler, who crossed 1,200 career assists, and Aubrey Johnson sat on the bench to start, and senior setter Rassa Abedinpour and junior opposite hitter Kate Kokodynski started in their place. Both were heavy contributors early on because of it. Kokodynski’s ability to convert in the front line was vital in the first two sets. At the same time, her solid ability for digs proved to be a considerable asset for Desert Mountain.

Nevertheless, the main storyline of this game was how streaky both teams were on the offensive end of the court. While all four sets were contentious and dramatic to the end, the match lacked the back-and-forth feel you would expect in these kinds of rivalry matchups. After Chaparral took control of the first set in a true back-and-forth clash, the rest of the game was one team taking control for five to six points, then struggling with everything from service errors to open holes on the court waiting for opposition kills to give momentum back to the other team.

The Wolves’ best example of this came in the third. After the Firebirds’ front line was dominant early in the set, junior middle hitter Kaitlyn Millington joined alongside established stars senior opposite hitter Vivian Adamucci and freshman outside hitter Nylah Bibby to help lead Desert Mountain on an 11-2 run that put the Wolves in the position to seize control of the match. But that too slipped away from Desert Mountain, due to clutch kills at the wings by the Firebirds.

The Wolves must now head back to the drawing board. With three regular season matches left, time is ticking for Desert Mountain to fix its late-game mental miscues before its first of two final road games on Monday at Paradise Valley High.

Achtzehn said he told his team not to complain about calls the ref didn't make or things teammates didn't do.

“Come to practice ready to fix those little things," Achtzehn said. "It is those things that have cost us games this year and only that. Period."