By Madeline Witt

The 5-15 Padres of Marcos de Niza High School were swept by the 21-13 Coyotes of Campo Verde 25-15, 25-9, 24-8 in a non-section 4A Conference girls volleyball match.   

Marcos de Niza got off to a slow start, and Campo Verde took full advantage. The first set began with Coyotes senior Kinani Hiapo serving up a five-point lead for Campo Verde. 

Marcos de Niza had problems answering Campo Verde’s serves all night. To make matters worse, the Padres’ own serves fell short Monday night, leaving them with few highlights for the match. 

“We don’t ever push through, and I think (until) the girls start believing in each other and just start playing as a team, Monday games just won't matter to them,” Padres coach Elizabeth Snow said.

Marcos de Niza came out slow again in the second set, letting Campo Verde gain a quick seven-point lead. 

Snow called a timeout, but it didn’t help. Hiapo continued serving, pushing the lead to 9-0 until the ball was finally served out. 

But Campo Verde sophomore Caitlin Dugan got the ball back with a line shot. Dugan shined throughout the night, helping her team to victory with cross court shots and hard spikes. 

Campo Verde head coach Venese Hiapo said that she’ll do a better job of preparing her team to execute better in the next match. Campo Verde assistant coach Nui Rubin added that her team’s next step is to start preparing for state.

Marcos de Niza came out with more energy in the third set but was still out matched, losing the set 25-8. 

Marcos de Niza will play again Tuesday at Tempe High at 6 p.m.

Witt is a sports journalism student at Arizona State. She is covering Marcos de Niza this semester.