By Madeline Witt

On Wednesday night, the Huskies of Scottsdale’s Horizon High hosted the Thunder of Desert Vista in a thrilling first round match of the state playoffs.

A close match was expected between the two 6A Conference programs, and that’s exactly what the fans witnessed. Down two sets, eighth-seeded Desert Vista rallied, walking away with 23-25, 27-29, 25-20, 25-17, 15-11 hard-fought road victory.

“I thought it was awesome volleyball tonight,” Horizon head coach Valorie Mckenzie. “Both teams were playing really well.”

The Huskies took the lead at the start of the fifth set, prompting Desert Vista coach Molly West to call a timeout with Horizon up 5-3.

Desert Vista rebounded with a left-handed spike and dink from sophomore Kalen Owes, tying the score at 6.

But Horizon was able to answer every move, as senior Erin Clark continued to shine with solid play from the corners. With the teams trading points during the remainder of the set, Thunder senior Hailey Dirrigl took over, carrying her team to the 15-11 final set victory.

(Desert Vista's Hailey Dirrigl.)

In the fourth set, Desert Vista capitalized on the momentum of the third set, starting things off with a three point run on the serving of Alex DePriest. Mckenzie called a timeout with her team down 8-3. 

The Huskies rallied but Desert Valley continued to dominate on the strength of Dirrigl’s kills and the blocking of 6-foot-4 junior Abigail Hansen in the middle, pushing the lead to 21-13. The Huskies rallied again with the help of Clark, narrowing the gap to 22-16 late in the set before falling behind for good.

(Horizon's Erin Clark.)

The teams looked evenly matched right from the start in Game 1, when both teams made good use of their power hitters.

Dirrigl led her team with good positioning and communication, backed up with a series of powerful kills. 

Horizon senior Indigo Elmore countered with a series of kills and blocks of her own. The score was tied much of the first set, and at 20-21 West called time out. 

West and McKenzie are two of Arizona’s volleyball coaching giants. Dirrigl led her team once again with a kill coming out of the time out, but the Huskies were able to hold the Thunder off and win the first set.

The second set was also evenly played. Both teams began the set with good blocks and long volleys. 

Horizon opened the set with a cross court kill, and Desert Vista answered with an ace on the next serve. Kalen Owes, a 6-foot-2 sophomore for Desert Vista, made good use of her height, providing several key dinks and spikes to keep the Thunder even throughout the match.

Horizon’s Skyler Brady-Gray, a 6-foot junior, combined with Elmore for a series of blocks. With the score 21-20 in favor of the Huskies, West called a timeout. 

The Thunder went on to rally and tie the game at 24. But the dramatic play continued, with the Thunder moving into the lead at 26-25 after another Dirrigl kill.

But Desert Vista surrendering the lead immediately when Dirrigl tipped the ball out. West called another timeout at 28-27, but this time the strategy didn’t work.

The set ended 29-27 after the Thunder touched the net.

Horizon capitalized on the momentum of the first two sets, coming out notably stronger in the third set. Desert Vista kept the score even, but Horizon was fired up. 

As junior Karen Scanlon put a powerful kill down the middle for the Huskies, the Thunder started to show some frustration, even as their bench cheered them on. West used a timeout to get her team back on track, and the Huskies came back to the court focused and communicating much better. 

But Desert Vista pulled ahead 20-13, supported by the serving of junior Alex DePriest and solid defense by senior Alexis Goroski. That helped Thunder won their first set.

“I think our girls fought hard,” West said. “They got a slow start and they picked up some momentum and they made some adjustments.”

Witt is a sports journalism student at Arizona State.