Laura White is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Verrado High School for AZPreps365.com

BUCKEYE –  There was one-way traffic on the court Tuesday night as the Verrado girls volleyball team rolled to a 3-0 sweep over Paradise Valley. The Vipers dominated in each set, 25-14, 25-12, 25-6. 

Verrado kicked things off with a quick four-point run, but a dominant stretch of nine unanswered points gave the Vipers a 20-7 lead. Junior middle blocker Aniah Brown had two kills in the run, and junior libero Elleana Bejerano added three aces.

“They came in and really just showed me exactly what I knew they were going to do,” Vipers coach Tiffany Liddile said. “And you know we're coming out on top.”

The Vipers are no stranger to kills, aces and runs. Brown went on a run of her own in the top of the second set with three aces and one kill. That was followed by junior outside hitter Alyssa Ortiz, who made up Verrado's next four points with three kills and one ace. 

“I think it's starting to all click,” Ortiz said. “Our passing, our hitting, our setting, it's all just collectively getting better each game.”

Verrado did not let up in the third set. They came out swinging, scoring the first nine points of the set. 

“We knew it was going to be a tough opponent either way and we just played more relaxed,” Trojans coach Chris Stanfield said. “At the end of the day, they have to have fun. If they're having fun they're going to play a lot better.”

The Vipers left little room for the Trojans to respond. After jumping ahead 9-0, Verrado stacked together three more five-point runs, limiting Paradise Valley to just one or two points in between. By the final stretch it was game point, 24-6, and Ortiz sealed the match with a kill. 

The win carried extra meaning for Verrado, with individual milestones in reach. Junior outside hitter Alyssa Ortiz is chasing 500 digs, and after posting 16, she now sits just eight shy. She also added 14 kills, inching closer to her 500 mark in that category as well.

“I think our serve-receive was better tonight and all the plays worked out so I got a couple more kills,” Ortiz said. “So 500 is coming soon.”

Like Ortiz, Brown has set her sights high as well.

“My goal is to get 500 kills,” Brown said. “That's a really big accomplishment for really anyone that's ready to be a hitter. It’s a really big goal to reach.” 

Brown followed closely behind Ortiz with 12 kills and eight aces. 

“Everybody’s doing really well right now so I’m just super proud of all of them,” Liddile said. “They’re really coming together and starting to jell.”