Elizabeth Agazaryan is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Valley Vista High School for AZPreps365.com

SURPRISE– It was a rough night for the Valley Vista Monsoon, who were swept by Millennium High School at home, 25-16, 25-10, 25-12. 

While the Tigers were creating a commanding lead, the Monsoon (10-7, 2-0) were being affected by low energy levels on and off the court.

“We just didn't have enough energy on the court,” Valley Vista coach David Chavez said. “We've got talent, just didn’t have the energy tonight. And it's hard to coach energy. So the kids have to want it.” 

The Tigers (13-9, 1-0) were led by their senior outside hitters, Isabella Martinez with eight kills and three aces, and Sa’mya Dorsey, who had 13 kills and one ace.

Creating a commanding lead in all three sets allowed for the Tigers to experiment with their lineups throughout the match.

“We were able to get everybody in,” Tigers coach Julie Vastine said. “Those opportunities are golden. When you can get a chance to get everybody to play because you never know when you need to insert somebody into a lineup or change their position.”

Valley Vista’s own senior outside hitter, Brynn Golba, impacted the match for the Monsoon, ending the night with five kills and one block.

“I think there was definitely room for improvement,” Golba said. “There are multiple things that we need to change and fix, but overall, we just need more effort and more energy on and off the court.” 

Freshman middle blocker Emma Bremer got an opportunity to show what she is capable of heading into region matches, finishing Tuesday’s match with her season best two kills and two blocks. Despite the effort, Bremer was also affected by the lack of energy in the Valley Vista gym. 

“We just talk a lot about bringing our energy up,” Bremer said. “And we do that for a little bit, but then if something goes wrong, our energy slowly starts to go back down.”

Valley Vista (10-7, 2-0) will host Apollo  (3-10, 0-2) for a region match Thursday at 6 p.m. Millennium (13-9, 1-0) will host  Sunnyslope (14-3, 0-1) Wednesday at 6 p.m.