At least for now, it appears that Sandra Day O’Connor is the No. 1 team in 6A girls volleyball.

“Looks like it,” said Eagles head coach Amanda Burbridge, after her squad defeated preseason favorite Xavier Prep 25-18, 25-17, 24-26, 25-17 on the road Wednesday night.

But Burbridge knows well enough that a lot can change between September and playoff season.

“This is all, in my opinion, still preseason,” she said. “So there’s a lot of volleyball left, and we are still in September. Who knows what everybody (will) look like by the time we get to November.”

As the lone undefeated titan atop the 6A rankings, packed with an arsenal of front-row power, the Eagles are the early pace-setters in the conference.

Following Wednesday’s match, Burbridge noted that her coaching staff had trouble selecting a Player of the Match due to her team's roster-wide contributions. The No. 8s for both teams—O’Connor outside hitter Berkley France (21 kills) and Xavier's Tessa Larkin (23 kills)—led the way offensively for their respective offenses.

However, Emma Brayer, Gabriella Nucci, Alayah Krein, and team captain Kristen Sheehy all took turns dealing damage against the Gators. Ensuring O'Connor's well-oiled machine ran at a rapid, flawless tempo was junior setter London Clark.

“We are definitely physical and big,” Clark said. “I love setting them because they are always up, hitting hard, and able to put the ball away. 

"It’s crazy. I could never do that.”

Yet, her hitters couldn't spread the ball around quite as adeptly as Clark. 

Even Xavier head coach Lamar-Renee Bryant offered high praise for O’Connor’s performance.

“I thought they played fantastic,” Renee Bryant said.

The speed and tempo dictated by O’Connor is exactly what Xavier hopes to emulate down the stretch. 

A somewhat young roster, combined with playing only their second match of the season alongside their captain, Larkin, may have a played a role in the result.

Larkin recently rejoined Xavier after leading the Under-19 U.S. National Team to a gold medal at the NORCECA U-23 Women's Pan American Cup in Nicaragua earlier this month.

“Our youth showed tonight,” Renee Bryant admitted. “We’ve got things to work on, and we are super excited to do that.”

One of the bright spots for Xavier (9-5) came during the third set. 

After a middle blast from O'Connor's 6-foot-4 captain, Sheehy, Xavier called a timeout trailing 23-22. The Gators responded out of the huddle, closing out the set behind two kills and an ace from Larkin.

O’Connor, however, saved its best for last. With the fourth set deadlocked at 9-9, the Eagles orchestrated their finest stretch of the night—rattling off eight of the next nine points. The dominant run was highlighted by a spectacular left-arm extension dig by Sami Mondino, followed by a kill from France.

O’Connor utilized that late momentum to build a comfortable 17-10 cushion, never looking back to improve to 15–0 .

“We are as good as we are because we all contribute,” Burbridge concluded.

Burbridge’s squad didn’t have a letdown, sweeping Canyon View on the road on Thursday.

Meanwhile, Xavier bounced back, sweeping Sunnyslope at home on the same day. 

The two programs will play a couple of more matches before participating in the prestigious Nike Tournament of Champions in Mesa on Oct. 2 and 3.