Victor Villa is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Highland for AZPreps365.com

GILBERT, Ariz. – Highland improved to 17-2 Tuesday night at home, sweeping Queen Creek, 3-0, behind a strong defense and confident offense to extend its winning streak to seven games on the season.

The Hawks won the three sets, 25-17, 25-16 and 25-20, overcoming early deficits in the first two sets before closing out the match. Highland’s depth proved important as the team dealt with injuries and relied on players throughout its lineup to contribute.

“We’ve got some injuries going on right now, so I really played everybody tonight, and everybody contributed,” head coach Jacob Kelty said.

Highland started the opening set trailing 6-2 before a block from Senior Taytum Broderick helped shift the momentum. The Hawks tightened their defense and built an 18-12 lead, then extended it during a long rally that ended with a spike. Senior Isabella Stojkovic delivered another powerful attack late in the set as Highland secured a 25-17 win.

The Hawks faced another slow start in the second set, falling behind 5-2. A resilient spike from Stojkovic helped Highland cut into the deficit, and the team soon took its first lead at 8-7. Highland continued to pull away, building a 19-11 advantage before winning the set 25-16.

Plagued with injuries, Kelty said Highland had to rely on more players throughout the lineup, which made confidence and trust important. He said building confidence during timeouts helped the Hawks create a wider lead and maintain control of the match.

“One thing that we’ve been struggling with a little bit is just confidence in tight moments,” Kelty said. “Making sure that they have confidence throughout the game is really big.”

Broderick said communication and trust helped Highland maintain its composure and work together throughout the match.

“We all just communicate, trust each other and know what our job is on the court,” Broderick said.

Broderick also credited the energy from the bench and crowd for helping players recover from mistakes and remain motivated.

“Even when you mess up, there’s always someone there to help you back up,” Broderick said. “It’s always helpful and it really rallies everybody.”

With a sweep within reach, Highland entered the third set with confidence. The two teams stayed neck and neck early, but the Hawks created separation with a sturdy defensive wall to take a 21-16 lead. Queen Creek called a timeout, but Highland maintained its advantage and won the set 25-20.

Stojkovic said establishing that early tone by winning the first set is important to help maintain energy throughout the match. In turn, the crowd and bench gave the players that final push to stay strong.

“I think it gives us a reason to play and people to play for,” Stojkovic said. “I feel like that’s what really unites us and allows us to play together and have fun.”

As Highland looked toward its next match, Stojkovic said the team wanted to continue setting the tone early, especially with the postseason approaching.

Looking `ahead, Kelty mentioned Highland still has areas to improve as it prepares for tougher competition when the postseason arrives.

“We want to get healthy, spread the ball around and get our outside hitters going because they’re a catalyst for our team,” Kelty said.

Highland will face Sunnyside on Oct. 15 where the Blue Devils sit 5-9.