Bianca Acosta is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Tolleson Union High School for AZPreps365.com.

 

Tolleson Union is still looking forward to securing its first at-home win of the toughest season the program’s seen in years after falling short to Sunrise Mountain High School on Thursday, October 17.

The Mustangs, who are currently ranked No. 1, were able to keep their perfect record alive as they defeated the Lady Wolverines within the first three sets (10-25, 8-25, 19-25). 

Tolleson Union sits at a 2-10 record this season, and for Alexa Velasquez, a senior opposite/outside hitter, talking and uplifting each other on the court and reinforcing the basics is something the team has been lacking when finishing matches.

“Moving our feet, who’s covering what and our serves have been things we’ve been missing a lot,” Velasquez said. “Our blocking, we’re working on that, too, and just trying to get more touches on the ball.”

Velasquez also said a win at home would be extremely meaningful to her since it is her last year on the team. 

“It doesn't feel that good to not have as many wins at home,” Velasquez said. “Just because it is my last year playing and touching the ball, I think I should just try every game to stay positive, keep my energy high, don't let the little things get to me or get me mad.”

Going into the match on a two-game winning streak, senior setter/DS and Tolleson captain, Lila Smith, said communication on the court was a notable improvement compared to previous games.

“As soon as everyone, together, as a unit, started being louder, it really helped us because we started to trust each other more since we could hear each other talking instead of the silence,” Smith said. 

Smith said it would feel amazing for her and her teammates to get this win, coming back home after being away for the last three games. 

“I would love that to happen especially because it’s my senior year, and for the younger girls, it being their first win at home,” Smith said.

As the coin toss revealed Sunrise Mountain to serve first, the Mustangs quickly scored the first point and maintained a significant lead, holding the Lady Wolverines to 2-17 before outside hitter Leah Millage made a kill from the back row for Tolleson. 

Tolleson ended the first set with10 points.

The Lady Wolverines served first to start the second set and gained their first point after a kill to end a rally full of defensive plays on both sides (1-3). The Mustangs were quick on offense, running short 1’s and sneaky slides that led them to maintain a long point streak. 

At a score of 4-13, Coach Hannah Milliken called a timeout to regroup the team and refocus on the mission to win. A few minutes later, Tolleson bounced back and scored with back-to-back kills bringing them to a 7-17 point difference. 

Mistakes made on the serve received by the Lady Wolverines ultimately made the team drop the second set to a final of 8-25.

Tolleson entered the third set with its heads held high and positive attitudes as they cheered each other on getting into starting positions.

Coach Milliken preached of the clear difference between earning a point and giving the opposing team a point. 

“Some teams are gonna be better than others,” Milliken said after the game. “It doesn't matter who the opponent is, just as long as we're completing every single game and doing our routine and our basics.” 

In the third set, both Tolleson and Sunrise Mountain had a combination of small mistakes and serving errors that led to an intense, high-energy set. The Tolleson bench was electric with volleyball cheers heard all throughout the gym. 

The Mustangs had first serve, but the first point went in favor of the Lady Wolverines. The score kept seesawing between both teams with the highest lead being just two points. The Mustangs were in control up until the 15th point of the set where it was tied. 

Tolleson quickly took the lead and picked up momentum, which led to holding the Mustangs to a score of 18-17. 

A few points later, Sunrise Mountain was back on top (18-20), and with a missed serve, gave Tolleson its final point of the match. Coach Milliken called for one last timeout at point 19-22 in order to regroup the girls once more.

The match concluded due to a serve receive error by Tolleson Union with the score of 19-25 in the third set. 

The final whistle blew and the Lady Wolverines were left with a loss back at home and have the next three games to claim a win on home court. 

For the remainder of the season, Coach Milliken said the team plans to continue working on having a strong mindset for future games and reiterating the focus to “compete, compete, compete” in order to finish and follow through matches.

“We made a couple dumb mistakes but we also made really good athletic plays,” Milliken said. “This is the toughest conference Tolleson has seen in years. We have not played a lot of these teams before, and we have teams that are traditionally and always ranked.”