Sam Sherman is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Rancho Solano Prep for AZPreps365.com

It was a frustrating night for Rancho Solano Prep, losing three straight sets on Friday to ALA-Mesa North.

The Mavericks (10-5) took care of the Mustangs (7-8), winning the match with set scores of 25-22, 25-20 and 25-15. 

Rancho Solano Prep remained competitive during the sweep, with 26 total kills, two aces and two blocks. ALA-Mesa North countered with 31 kills, six aces and four blocks. 

Despite  a comparable offense, the Mustangs were always playing from behind. Defensive mistakes and lack of execution forced the Mustangs to make late rallies to keep the score close before ultimately losing.

Rancho Solano Prep coach Jeffery Dumbrell lamented that the Mustangs were their own worst enemy. 

“We don’t earn our points,” Dumbrell said. “We wait for them to be given to us, which makes it really hard to win.”

Rancho Solano Prep struggled to establish any rhythm.

The Mustangs jumped out to a 3-1 lead in the second set when a fire alarm forced the entire gym to be evacuated. 

After the fire department cleared the scene the match was ready to resume.

“They’re sabotaging us!” joked a Rancho Solano Prep fan as they returned to their seat. “They’re trying to kill the momentum.”

Sabotage or not, the Mustangs did lose that momentum. 

Their small lead quickly evaporated, and they were unable to capture any real momentum for the rest of the match, despite strong play from seniors Allie Brooks and Olivia Novac, who led late comebacks in all three sets.

In the second set, Brooks and Novac combined for three kills as part of a late five-point run to make the set close before back-to-back kills from the Mavericks vanquished all hope of completing the comeback.

The second and third sets ultimately revealed the Mustangs’ two biggest weaknesses: timidness and communication.

“When a team is up by five on you, you have to do a lot more than just show up and play basic volleyball,” Dumbrell said of his team’s lack of urgency. “Tonight was one of our worst nights as far as communication goes. A lot of them get afraid to make a mistake, so they won’t make an attempt on the ball.”

During the third set the Mustangs gave up a critical five-point run early in which the Mavericks did not record an ace, kill or block. 

“It’s frustrating to lose in this fashion,” Dumbrell said. “This was one of our lowest-level games that we’ve had in a while.”

ALA-Mesa North (10-5) will travel to Fountain Hills (7-7) at 6 p.m. Tuesday.

Rancho Solano Prep (7-8) is set to host Heritage Academy Mesa (9-5) at 6 p.m. Tuesday.