Chandler Basha got by Scottsdale Desert Mountain on the road Thursday in three sets, 25-16, 25-23, 25-22.

Basha came out dominant in the opening set, and maintained its lead against Desert Mountain with relative ease. The Bulldogs stayed at least three points ahead of the Wolves throughout Set 1. Basha junior Chayse Daugherty was solid during the opening set, coming through as an efficient hitter, especially with the help of her teammates.

“She does an excellent job as far as executing, but realistically I thought we all played fairly well,” said Basha head coach Terri Spann.

Basha managed to secure the first set after a service error by Desert Mountain.

Desert Mountain did a good job in keeping the score close; Basha never lead by more than three points during the whole second set.

Desert Mountain took the lead on three separate occasions during the second set, which was something that they failed to do in the first. Wolves coach Tammy Butler made sure to keep her team motivated after coming out of a tough first set.

“I told them that every team is beatable, and I said that they’ve got to find a way to beat that team. Every point is a battle. Every point is a game point, and that was kind of our mindset going into it.”

But Bulldogs’ outside hitter Samantha Drewry secured the Set 2 victory with a kill giving the Bulldogs a 25-23 win.

The Wolves kept up with the Bulldogs in order to make the Bulldogs’ final set win a little bit more challenging. Coach Butler saw great improvement from her team as the match progressed.

“I didn’t see a lot of teamwork in the first set. I saw them coming together more as a team in the second, and I saw them fire up and have energy all the way through.”

The final set was tied a total of nine different times, which was more than the previous two sets. Daugherty secured the match for Basha with a kill, which brought the final score to 25-22.

Scoring the final point meant a lot to Daughtery, who has really enjoyed playing volleyball at Basha.

“Playing for Terri has been a great experience, and she’s making me a better player. Being able to celebrate with my team and being able to give them what we have been working so hard to get was amazing.”

Despite a three-set loss, the Wolves are looking forward to their next match against Snowflake High School in the Goldwater Tournament on September 1. Coach Butler addressed some of the improvements that need to occur prior to Friday’s tournament.

“Right now, we need to keep working on generating a faster offense, working on our defense and defending a line attack. We’re struggling with that.”

Desert Mountain senior setter Kaleigh Hockett is optimistic going into the next game.

“I think we need to keep the energy constant throughout all sets and throughout the entire match. I think keeping the energy and staying mentally tough will really help us push through.”