McKenna Kellams is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover McClintock High School for AZPreps365.com.

Everyone in the stands could feel the high energy and intensity on the court as the McClintock Chargers girls volleyball team beat the Carl Hayden Falcons 3-1 in a 5A Metro Region match on Thursday night. 

The Chargers began to lose some energy towards the end of the third set, won by Carl Hayden, but they came back in the fourth fired up and ready to not give up.

As the scores were teetering back and forth, anticipation rose for everyone watching and playing. The Chargers pulled out the win against the Falcons, taking the final set 25-23.

The gym became loud with cheers but on the opposite side of the court the Falcons hung their heads low.

McClintock continued its winning streak to five to improve to 7-5, while Carl Hayden dropped to 2-7.

The Chargers have had a good season so far and are looking to keep their momentum going as head coach Jacob Laikona pushes them to stay focused.

“Keep the girls engaged the whole time, on the court and off the court, especially at practice to make sure they are improving," he said when asked about the plan to keep the streak alive. "And that they are implementing things that we work on in practice in the game."

The last time the two teams played each other was back in 2021 when McClintock beat Carl Hayden 3-0.

When asked how he felt going into this match against the Chargers, Carl Hayden head coach Francisco Villa said he knew they'd have to be at their best.

 “We knew they were pretty good…our whole thing was to battle until the end and try to upset some teams,” he said. 

The Falcons are coming off of a 0-17 season and are switching up some plays, Villa said, “We are looking to hit the one and five position on the court, and the girls are responding well and started to catch on and pay attention to it.”

The Falcons are currently ranked seventh in the 5A Metro Region and 42nd in the 5A Conference rankings. 

Chris Thomas, an assistant coach for the Chargers, said the team can not let up if McClintock is going to qualify for the postseason.

“We hope to do well in region," he said. "We know we can't afford to drop any games if we want a chance at making it to state (from) our region,” Thomas said before the game.

The Chargers have a very young team so Thomas and Laikona hope to prepare the girls in many different positions on the court for versatlity, while also emphasizing urgency so they are ready to take on the season the best that they can.

The Chargers face the San Luis Sidewinders (0-4) in Yuma on Tuesday, in a non-conference match at 6 p.m.

The two teams last played each other in 2022 with a 3-0 win for the Chargers. The Sidewinders currently ranked 44th in the Arizona 6A Conference rankings.