Juan Manosalva is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Gilbert Christian High School for AZPreps365.com

PHOENIX — Gilbert Christian’s girls volleyball team couldn’t overcome a slow start on the road Tuesday night, falling to Scottsdale Christian in four sets, 25-19, 25-20, 15-25, 25-20.

The Eagles (26-6, 2-0) controlled the first two sets before the Knights (22-7, 5-1) responded with a dominant third set. Gilbert Christian fed off strong serving and steady net play, closing the third on a six-point run to silence the home crowd.

“After those first two sets, we all knew as a team that we needed to fight for each other and just keep pushing without giving up,” junior outside hitter Lillie Duitsman said.

Duitsman led the rally with eight kills in the set. She finished with 14 kills, two blocks and one ace, pushing her season totals to 216 kills, 72 blocks and 42 aces. 

Sophomore libero Shay Loth called Duitsman “one of their best players,” noting that she always “gives her 100 percent for the team.”

The Knights carried momentum into the fourth set with a six-point opening run. But the Eagles answered with a five-point run followed by a four-point surge to take a 13-10 lead, which they held the rest of the way.

Scottsdale Christian coach Julie Dickerson said the matchup carried extra weight after her team lost a 2-0 lead and was reverse-swept by the Knights last season.

“After they took the third set, I was afraid the game would end the same way,” Dickerson said. “We knew that as soon as they got in system they were going to get whatever swings they wanted.”

However, the Knights struggled with communication during the final set. Players collided going for balls, others pulled back on plays, and mistakes added up. Four of Scottsdale Christian’s last five points came on Knights’ errors -- out-of-bounds attacks, net violations and misplayed coverages.

“We recently had someone injured on our team, so we’ve had to switch up our lineups and adjust to new things,” Loth said. “I think we’re doing good with that, but yeah, there were some communication errors.”

Coach Dickerson said those breakdowns from Gilbert Christian were tied to serving pressure.

“In the fourth set, again, we put pressure on them with our serve,” Dickerson said. “That’s when they started second-guessing themselves. They were running into each other, people weren’t going for balls because they didn’t know who was going to get it. That all came from us pushing them back, forcing them to play out of system. Then we could settle our defense, get a good block up and funnel balls where we wanted.”

The Eagles’ service game was effective throughout the night. Junior defensive specialist Emma Weller recorded seven aces, giving Scottsdale Christian momentum in key stretches even outside the final set.

Another key point on the set was junior outside hitter Kaya Olafson, who contributed with six points in the fourth set and finished with 17 kills and two aces. 

Scottsdale Christian also entered the match with two players already at career milestones. Olafson began the night with 1,000 career kills, closing in on the school record of 1,200, while senior libero Lucy Dickerson came in with 1,000 career digs and had already set the program record.

“It’s a really big goal,” Olafson said. “I think I should definitely be able to get it by senior year, but it will be cool if I get it this year.” 

On the other side,  Dickerson said the career record reflected years of work.

“It’s something I’ve definitely been working toward throughout my career,” Dickerson said. “This is my fourth year as a libero, and it was something I was really striving for. It felt really good to finally accomplish that and to see my goal come true.”

Other key contributors included Gilbert Christian’s junior outside hitter Sienna Cathey with 10 kills and two aces, and senior outside hitter Alexia Heyn with 10 kills and four blocks, along with Scottsdale Christian’s senior outside hitter Selah Wadsworth with 12 kills, two aces and two blocks.

Gilbert Christian (22-7, 5-1) will host Bourgade Catholic (3-9, 0-5) on Oct. 15 at 6 p.m. 

Scottsdale Christian (26-6, 2-0) will host Red Rock (1-9, 0-2) on Thursday at 6 p.m.