Daycie Graham is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Marcos De Niza High School for AZPreps365.com

In the last game of the season, Marcos de Niza Padres fought hard against Arcadia, but fell in three sets (8-25, 23-25, 15-25). 

Marcos de Niza ended the season 7-10 and 0-10 in the 4A Desert Sky region. Arcadia is also 7-10, but 4-6 in the region.

The Padres began competing fiercely against Arcadia, but gradually, their energy faded, impacting their performance.

The Padres blocking was strong at the net, but their off-block coverage caused them to fall behind from simple mistakes.

Marcos and Arcadia struggled with inconsistency, costing them valuable points. Both teams faced adversity, but Arcadia’s strong offense impacted Marcos’ game, driven by numerous kills from Arcadia senior Lane Sheedy.

"We set the block on hard cross so our libero and our setter can dig line," senior outside hitter Caylee Ellett said.

Marcos de Nizas's starting lineup was not their regular starters, with major changes on the outside, they had to adjust, but everybody stepped up and played their part, said the Padres' head coach Fernando Vital. 

But this didn't stop Marcos, as they almost took set two from Arcadia. The seniors Ellett, LaQuira Alexander, and sophomore Nailani Joe led the offense, combined for 12 kills.  

During the second set, the Padres started to communicate more, limiting how often they were out of the system. The passing improved, which allowed their hitters to attack more.

In the third set, Marcos allowed Arcadia to score more kills than in the first two sets, leading to defensive struggles and limiting their ability to make digs against the Titans.

Alexander kept her teammates energetic during the game, even while they were down. While this was a tough game, she remained positive and uplifted everyone.

"I just try to leave everything out there I don't think about anything else besides playing with my teammates," Alexander said.

The third set's first game differed from this one, as the Padres showed improved scores, highlighting their growth.

"From 25-2 and 25-9, we actually kind of scared them in the second set," Vital said.

While the Padres lost to the Titans in three sets, they kept up and played hard against them, almost taking a set.

Marcos ends their season sixth in the 4A Desert Sky region, demonstrating extreme growth from last season's 0-17 record.