Alexandra Esquivel Santos is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Mesa High for AZPreps365.com

MESA, Ariz. — Mesa High girls volleyball team came up short Tuesday night to Mountain View, missing its chance to reclaim second place in the region standings. 

Coming off a 3-0 victory against Dobson on Sept. 30, Mesa High played its home game against Mountain View attempting to seek another win to strengthen its position in the region standings. Mesa High, however, lost its matchup 3-0, falling to third place in region standings.   

In the first set, the crowd was loud and the players on both sides showed their competitiveness on their faces. Both Mesa High and Mountain View kept scoring points back to back and the noise in the gymnasium only got louder.

Mesa High’s offense performed well, with the team’s outside hitter Lauryn Thomas delivering powerful spikes that helped the team continue to deliver competitive plays. Thomas leads her team this season with a total of 570 kills, according to MaxPreps. 

With Mesa High behind 16-14 during the first set, libero Charly Pacheco received a full force impact of the ball to her shoulder, which resulted in her taking a fall but getting back up to deliver a save for her team.

“Our libero, she’s just always a firecracker on the court, even if she gets hit, she gets right back up,” assistant coach Jonnie Cummard said.

Despite several strong plays from Mesa High, Mountain View delivered strong attacks that helped them win the first set, 25-18.

The biggest challenge for the Jackrabbits was facing Toros coach McKay Johnson, who had previously coached Mesa High’s girls volleyball team and was familiar with the players’ weaknesses.

“We have prepped all of fall break for this,” assistant coach Kanani Hiapo said. “It’s hard because the coach that we played against knows all of our girls.”

During the second set, there was a shift in energy not only from the supporters but from the team itself. The supporters covered their faces in frustration after every point scored from Mountain View, and players seemed frustrated after every attempt to save the ball. Mesa High started off strong, delivering the first point and had clear communication from coach Vee Hiapo managing their next moves. 

The attacking on Mesa High’s side was not at its best, with Mountain View delivering exceptional blocks and most of the Jackrabbits’ spikes ending in out-of-bounds.

Mountain View continued to show their ability to attack during the second set, adding pressure onto Mesa High with powerful spikes and aiming its hits in zone three. The tactics made by the Toros’ challenged the Jackrabbits’ defense, ending the second set, 25-13.

“Luckily for us we still have another round of regions, this is also our first time that we match up with them,” Hiapo said. “We have a lot of good potential, there are a lot of pieces that we need to figure out.”

Mesa High’s supporters hoped for a comeback in the third set, and Pacheco entered the court encouraging her teammates in hopes of winning it to continue the game. Mountain View scored the first point of the set, but the Jackrabbits came in with an incredible spike from Thomas. 

The beginning of this set was full of well played blocks from Jackrabbits middle blocker Brooklyn Stephen, who has a total of 31 blocks this season. Mountain View continued to score consecutively but outside hitter Stevie Montague, who has a total of 61 kills, scored a point for Mesa High to make it 10-5. 

“Today was one of my better days, our team is good and we like pushing through,” Montague said. 

As Mountain View continued to score, Jackrabbit fans got frustrated with the missed hits and the kills by the Toros. With Mesa High down 16-11 in the third set, coach Vee Hiapo called a timeout to regroup her team in hopes to encourage them to continue fighting.

The Jackrabbits stood with their hands on their hips, breathing heavily, their faces red from the intensity of the match and sweat dripping down their faces. Between points, despite their exhaustion, Mesa High players continued to go after Mountain View’s powerful spikes in an effort to keep the rally going. Hiapo encouraged her players from the sideline as they mentally and physically prepared for the rest of the set.

The Jackrabbits did not reclaim their second place in the region standings, ending their third set 25-16.

“We were focusing on our blocking, we are still working on that,” Cummard said. The Jackrabbits will continue to work on their blocking before facing Tucson in their next match.