Tre Heard is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Mesquite High School for AZPreps365.com. 

GILBERT – The Mesquite Wildcats needed just three sets to sweep the Marcos de Niza Padres on Wednesday night. A few long scoring runs, a balanced offensive attack and a suffocating defense led to a 25-11, 25-9, 25-9 victory.

The Wildcats had three players tally at least five kills, and nearly every player on the roster contributed to the scoring effort. The Wildcats’ defense held the Padres to just 29 total points across three sets.

“We knew we just came off a big win and we had to continue to play our volleyball and not worry about who’s across the net,” Mesquite coach Monroe Olsen said. “I told them we needed to go in with discipline and that it’s gonna take our whole team, our bench included, to make a run in postseason.”

The Wildcats opened the match by overcoming an early 0-2 deficit with a blistering 10-0 run, sparked by three kills from senior middle blocker Caprice Charlie and five first-set kills from senior outside hitter Samaya Elliott. Mesquite closed the set on an 8-1 run, winning the first set 25-11. Charlie finished the game with five kills, while Elliott finished with six kills. 

The second set followed the same pattern with the Wildcats stringing together runs of 6-0, 7-0 and 5-0 to pull away. The Wildcats defense dominated with two blocks apiece, that directly resulted in points, from Charlie and senior middle blocker Meredith Allen. The Wildcats cruised to a 25-9 win and a 2-0 lead.

Senior setter Cami White put the third set out of reach almost immediately, serving four aces in an 11-0 start. She finished with six aces, the most of any player in the match. Mesquite closed the night on another 5-0 run, capped by three straight kills from Allen, to secure a 25-9 win and the sweep. Allen finished the game with a match-high seven kills. 

“It takes everyone to win and not just one person,”  Charlie said. “We have big goals for the end of season so I’m making sure we’re playing team volleyball and just playing together. We want to win the region championship and make it far into the playoffs.”

The defense was the anchor for the Wildcats’ victory. With the front row contesting nearly every Padres swing, Marcos de Niza’s offense struggled to find rhythm. Only one player, junior opposite hitter Nailani Joe, finished with more than three kills, recording a team-high four.

“We did not show our full potential,” Padres coach Fernando Vital said. “The girls had a rough start but we have to start producing better right out the gate. This game’s done and over, we can’t do anything to change it so now we have to put in the work for our next game.”

Mesquite (19-3, 3-0) plays at St. Mary’s (14-6, 1-1) on Monday at 6 p.m.

Marcos De Niza (5-8, 0-4) will travel to St. Mary’s (14-6, 1-1) on Oct. 15 at 6 p.m.