Amanda Roche is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Gilbert Christian for AZPreps365.com.

CHANDLER -- Gilbert Christian brought offensive dominance in all three sets against San Tan Foothills on Wednesday night, led by the performances of junior hitter Skylar Dedich and senior hitter Alexia Heyn.

Heyn recorded 11 kills, while Dedich added nine.

After a loss to Northwest Christian, ending the Knights’ seven-match win streak, Gilbert Christian returned to their normal pattern of three-set sweep wins with a victory against the Sabercats, 25-4, 25-4, 25-10.

“Northwest Christian is a really great team, and we played in a tournament Friday and Saturday, which was really good for us,” Knights coach Andrew Rasmussen said. “I'm just really proud of the way the girls are solving problems and figuring things out. It's a long season and we want to be at our best in November.”

The Knights opened the match with a long rally against the Sabercats, only to be ended by a powerful kill from junior hitter Sienna Cathey. Gilbert Christian quickly pulled ahead in the first set, jumping out to a 15-3 lead, thanks to seven kills from junior hitter Lillie Duitsman.

“With a kill streak, I get more momentum with the more balls I hit,” Dedich said. “Just being focused on every touch, making sure that we pass to the setter while the setters push to the hitter.”

“You have to make sure you're hitting in the right position and watching where the ball is going to come from. We really have to be ready for anything while working as a team and communicating to push us through long rallies."

The Sabercats found themselves caught in the undertow of the Knights' dominant offense. They managed just four points in the first set, all coming off Knights’ errors. Standing in for Sabercats coach Elijah Swinton, assistant coach Nick Tucker looks to focus on their offense moving forward.
 

“The offense is better, but this team is going through a really tough time right now, so we are going to spend some more time in practice,” Tucker said. “We are going to add Saturdays to the list and start getting some more work in.” 

The Knights placed little emphasis on defense, registering only four rally-ending blocks, but their offense stayed hot. They opened the second set with a 7-0 run with four kills from Heyn, two from senior middle blocker Lily Midthun and a service ace from senior setter Sidney Loth. Heyn also worked to take home three setter dumps by capitalizing on gaps in the Sabercats' front line.

“I usually like to do a setter dump when I see an opening in the defense by pushing to the middle or the sides,” Alexia Heyn said.

San Tan Foothills battled in the third set, forcing longer rallies, but the Knights sealed the win with a final kill from Heyn, 25-10.

“We just needed to lock in and take care of our side,” Heyn said “In volleyball you're not worried about the other side, you're worried about your own so we just have to play the game.”

Gilbert Christian (9-2, 9-2) will play Scottsdale Christian (9-0, 8-0) on Thursday at 6 p.m., while San Tan Foothills (4-7, 2-7) will host Bourgade Catholic (2-8, 2-5) on Thursday at 6 p.m.