The Chaparral Firebirds and the Arcadia Titans faced off on the Firebirds' court on Wednesday. Chaparral won the match after winning all three sets against the Titans, 25-22, 25-23, 25-23. 

"Going into today’s match set distribution, making sure we mix up our sets, using all three options, coming from the left, right and middle and using the backcourt paid off," Chaparral coach Holly Tiffany said.

Chaparral came out strong, putting the first three points of the set on the board against Arcadia off of serves from junior outside hitter Amber Stivrins.

The Firebirds took the lead early on, keeping at least a three-point lead at the beginning of the first set. However, towards the end of the set, the Titans tied the score 18-18, and eventually took the lead 20-18.

Jordyn Sender’s second ace of the game pushed the Firebirds to a 21-20 lead.

 
In the final stretch of an evenly-matched set, the Firebirds won the set 25-22 after an ace and two kills.  

The second set started off with three consecutive aces by Arcadia’s Haley Westhoff. The Titans scored the first four points of the set. 

Kylee Davis’ block, followed by Hailey Hertzog’s ace helped the Firebirds tie the set 6-6 early on. For the rest of the second set, the Firebirds and Titans kept the score close, with neither team maintaining more than a two-point lead in the set. 

Davis said the win was a defensive win. “We’ve been practicing defense a lot, and then we put the ball down when we needed to," Davis said.

Stivrins had two consecutive kills breaking the tie and pushing Chaparral ahead 13-12.

The Titans came back from trailing by three points off of an ace by outside hitter Elle Overs, tying the game at 23.

Game point came from Stivrins, who returned a Titan serve with a dig. Chaparral won Set 2, 25-23. 

The third set of the match started with two consecutive Titan points, one off of a block from Arcadia’s Jade Smith. 

An ace by Kate Van Houten pushed the Firebirds ahead by four points, 10-6.

 “Kate Van Houten did exactly what the coaching staff was asking for, mixing up her sets and trusting the outside hitters," Tiffany said.

Chaparral’s Lexy Lewis landed an ace on her third serve to help her team maintain a steady lead, putting them ahead of the Titans by six points in the middle of the third set. 

The Firebirds broadened the lead with three digs in a row, putting them ahead 19-14. 

After back-and-forth points for both teams, the Firebirds eventually win the third set off of a block by Davis, 25-23.

“Our team played long today, dug a lot of balls and kept rallies going,” Arcadia head coach Jackie Bunker said. She also said her team “made too many unforced errors, every little point matters and so even the slightest miscommunication error can result in a win or a loss.