Daniel Duque is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Betty Fairfax High School  for AZPreps365.com.

PHOENIX -- After an 0-3  loss on the road to the North High School Mustangs on Monday, the Betty Fairfax girls volleyball team bounced back Wednesday night by sweeping the Central Bobcats,  25-12, 25-10, 25-12.

The Stampede proved to be a solid team in all three sets, playing aggressively against the Bobcats, whose losing streak was stretched to 11 matches.

“We are struggling, yes, but we have to keep our head up,” Bobcats coach Kristin Harris  said. “We are struggling with our defense.”

The Stampede did not play with a libero during this game in order to boost the team’s attacking power.

Despite starting the first set down a point, Betty Fairfax quickly gained the lead through some errors and the outstanding performances of senior middle hitter Brooklyn Scott  and senior outside hitter Alexis Rosas. 

Being down 5-10, the Bobcats responded with five consecutive points to level the score and put pressure on the Stampede. Four aces in a row by junior middle hitter Guadelupe Diaz Isais gave Betty Fairfax the momentum to finish the set with a solid 25-12 edge.

“I think today was really good,” Scott said. “I really liked the lineup and how we were not relying on one person. I think we were doing really good talking to each other, staying in our bases and just playing as a team.”

The second set was more dominating for the Stampede, starting 9-0 with Salas, Scott and Isais overwhelming the Bobcats defense. Despite the deficit, Central responded steadily to put the score at 13-7, but Betty Fairfax regained their first set intensity to seal the second set with a 25-10 victory. 

“I think we really did good on trusting each other, especially with no libero,” Rosas said. “Our vibe was up and we won.”

Early into the third set the score was 3-3, but like the previous sets, the Stampede went on a 14-0 run  with a solid performance by Scott, Rosas and Isais. 

As the third set came to an end, Betty Fairfax coach Iman Isom substituted her starting lineup, to which the Bobcats, with resilience, pressured the Stampede and put 12 points on the board. In the end, the Stampede sealed the match with a 25-12 victory.

Isom said that for this game, she analyzed every player on the team in order to create a more competitive lineup and decided not to play everyone in the roster.

“Unfortunately, it hurts not to play everybody, but those six know how to get it done,” Isom said. “Win or lose, I think these girls will be able to make our games more competitive and that’s what I took from today. I have to put the girls that execute on the court.”

As the second half of the season approaches, the Stampede will visit the Alhambra Lions, which defeated them in a previous match. Isom said that she intensified practice to motivate her squad to play better.

“At the end of practice, they were drenched in sweat and I told them winning is not easy, so we need to work hard every chance we get," Isom said. “I got to prove and show that hard work beats talent, so it doesn’t matter who we play, McClintock, all the teams that we lost to, we are hitting our second half of the season and If we play like  we played tonight, we can beat the rest of these teams, the rest of the season and get our chance for region back.”

Betty Fairfax (2-4, 4-6) will visit  Alhambra  (5-2, 7-3) on Oct. 14 at 6 p.m.

Central (0-6, 0-11) will visit the Cesar Chavez Champions (3-1, 5-5) on Oct. 14 at 6 p.m.