Kylee Loewe is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Sandra Day O’Connor High School for AZPreps365. 

PHOENIX -- Senior outside hitter Kaiya Kearney paved the way for the Sandra Day O’Connor girls volleyball team in a sweep on Thursday night at Pinnacle High School, 25-18, 25-18, 25-16.

The Santa Clara University commit dominated with 14 kills, 25 digs and one ace. 

“Kaiya crushed it,” Eagles coach Amanda Burbridge said. “If you take a performance like that away from tonight, it changes the game. She’s been looking for numbers like that and it was really cool to see her do it.”

Kearney expressed her excitement for her team’s road victory. 

“We came off a hard loss against Liberty,” Kearney said. “So I feel like we bounced back well this week and we didn’t get down on ourselves.”

The opening set was tightly contested, with the teams trading points until Pinnacle went on a five-point run to cut O’Connor’s 13-6 lead to three. Kearney answered with a pair of kills, sparking momentum that carried the Eagles to a 25-18 first-set win. 

“We were having a hard time making a defensive adjustment on Kaiya,” said first-year Pinnacle coach Caitlin Lord. “We would move somewhere and then she would immediately put the ball somewhere else. She is a very talented hitter.”

In the second set, the Pioneers jumped ahead with an early five-point run, but O'Connor countered with a four-point burst to tie the score at 6. The Eagles then went on a five-point run of their own to take the lead and never trailed again.

“It’s easy to start strong and then die off,” Kearney said. “I felt like we kept up our energy throughout the game and I’m proud of that.”

The third set started as a back-and-forth battle, tied at 6 before O’Connor’s captain duo of Kearney and middle back Leylah Duran combined for several kills and blocks to help the Eagles pull away for good. 

“Leylah is our ‘Steady Eddie,’ and she has been since she was a freshman,” Burbridge said. “She’s smart, aggressive and just a fun player to watch.”

Duran finished with six kills, two blocks and two aces. Junior outside hitter Sami Mondino also came alive in the final moments, contributing two points to the seven-point run that clinched the match. Mondino tallied six kills, one block and one ace.

“I feel like our team really came together, connected well and played well tonight,” Kearney said. 

Despite the loss, Lord highlighted the performance of Pinnacle junior outside hitter Addison Nicks, who posted 10 kills and three aces. 

“Addy’s performance is always super important for us,” Lord said. “She’s a very dynamic hitter in the front and back row, so having her on and capable of getting a good ball is good for our game.”

Lord also reflected on the opportunity to coach against Burbridge, her Revolution club volleyball coaching colleague.

“Amanda’s been a mentor to me for the longest time,” Lord said. “I’ve coached on her staff multiple times, so being able to coach against her here in my first season as a high school head coach has been really awesome.”

Sandra Day O’Connor (15-4) will host Mountain Ridge (7-10) on Oct. 14 at 6 p.m.