Notre Dame Prep held off Salpointe Catholic 3-1 Tuesday night on the road to improve to 3-0 on the year. The victories include a 3-0 sweep at Campo Verde to open up 5A East Sky Region play and a 3-2 win over Ironwood Ridge at home last Thursday after being up 2-0 in set play. The Nighthawks made it to the 5A semifinal round last year and Salpointe is the 5A defending champion. The victories over the two Southern Arizona powerhouses are sure to be power ranking boosters when the initial rankings are released on Sept. 29 but there is plenty of volleyball to play until then.

Ali Svorinic Sandoval (NDP, 2012) is in her third year with the Saints and she led her former team to the semifinal round in her first year in 2024, but the team suffered a minor upset in the quarterfinal round last year. Another deep run appears to be in the mix this fall.

The Saints have a good mix of seniors, juniors and sophomores on the roster but the program did lose Lauren Watson to graduation (San Diego beach volleyball), while Salpointe has only one senior in the program after losing 12 from the championship run from last year. The Lancers bring back junior setter Callen Hutchens (Gonzaga) and junior libero Reagan Burgle (Arizona).

“We have a very special group of girls,” Sandoval said. “They're very talented, but they're also very fun behind it so it's just very enjoyable. I think one of the biggest things for us is that because we have so much talent, we have to make sure that we are enjoying what we do. So making sure that whatever environment, whether it's match or in practice, that we're creating just like that positive environment where like they can thrive and showcase their skill set.”

The Saints ran out to a 15-3 lead in the first set Tuesday night but the Lancers were able to cut that lead down to 23-17 but Notre Dame took the first set 25-17 to go up 1-0. Notre Dame went out to a 10-3 lead in the second set but the Lancers went on a 13-4 run to take a 16-14 lead. The Saints battled back to go up 18-17 but Salpointe closed out the set on an 8-0 run with freshman Kolbie Jackson coming up with three kills, an ace and a block down the stretch.

The Lancers looked like they were going to take the third set after going up 22-19 but the Saints bounced back to win it 25-23. It appeared to be a make or break point in the set in the match with the Saints using the momentum to end the match after beating Salpointe 25-17 in the fourth set.

“This is our third match so far, and at some point in each match, we've been in a pressure situation, which is really good for us,” Sandoval added. “So I am totally okay if we drop the set and we're able to rebound from that. It's just going to prep us for down the road. Pressure is a good thing, and we have to be okay with that, and we have to be comfortable with that.”

Reagan Burgle. (Andy Morales/AZPreps365)