Joy Dartez is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Millennium High School for AZPreps365.com

Millennium’s girls volleyball team honored its 11 seniors on Wednesday by sweeping Xavier College Preparatory. The Tigers dominated the match through powerful offensive hitting and solid defensive plays to win their last home match of the regular season, 25-20, 25-16, 25-21.

Senior Jayda Hunt was a force on offense as she led the way for the Tigers. Seniors Katelyn McKinley, Cassidy Armstrong and Riian Warner also contributed to the team’s overall success as well. 

The win was especially meaningful for Millennium because it honored its 11 graduating seniors who have been part of the school’s volleyball program for the past four years. After losing to Xavier in four sets on Oct. 15, the Tigers were able to beat their opponents, making this senior night at home even more memorable. 

Millennium coach Nicole Hoff said her team was motivated to give the senior players an opportunity to have a special night.

“We came in wanting to just play for each other, play for our seniors and play in front of this amazing crowd,” Hoff said. “And that fueled us.”

The Tigers started the match off by taking the first set 25-20. Hunt had two big hits for the Tigers, one of them was a tip and one of them was a block/spike, while Warner hit several times helping the Tigers get on the board. Armstrong had an additional spike as well as a tip which got them points. 

In addition to her tip play, Hunt provided additional offense as well as many other attack plays that resulted in the ball landing in Xavier’s back row.

The first set saw both Armstrong and Warner contribute to the success of Millennium’s offense. Armstrong had one successful attack while Warner added two spikes that were also attacking the side of the court for Xavier. Both Armstrong and Warner made significant contributions to help keep the momentum going for the Tigers. Tigers coach Hoff said it was the energy that they played with at the start of the match that kept them energized through the entire game.

“From the very first points, you saw us go all out,” Hoff said. “There was nothing that could stop us.”

The Tigers put on another strong show in the second set and took home the win 25-16. McKinley was able to contribute by helping her team get points through both an attack and a defensive block.

Hunt added to this success when she got two more points for her team, which came off a block and an attack, but it was off the hands of Xavier’s defense. Armstrong, Warner and Gianna Fierros were also getting their offense going to help Millennium take a step closer to taking the match.

The Tigers finished off the sweep by winning the third set 25-21. Hunt contributed again with her second straight defensive block. In addition to Hunt’s defensive play, Warner, Fierros and Adelaide Millhiser were key contributors on both sides of the net

For Hunt, this win was not just about the scoreboard, but also about defending a familiar opponent and being able to celebrate her last regular season home appearance.

“To be honest, full aggression,” Hunt said when describing her mindset entering the match. “We already lost to Xavier, so we really wanted it.”

That motivation was shared by McKinley who said defeating Xavier made the night even more meaningful for the graduating players.

“It means so much to us with it being our senior night and more than half of our team being seniors,” McKinley said. “It just is so exciting to win and to beat a team that we’ve been wanting to beat for so long.”

The game had more than just competitive significance, it represented a significant emotional moment for the senior class at Millennium who have developed as a group since freshman year.

Millennium honored their graduating seniors including Warner, Natalie Malachowska, Amaya Cruz, Layla Hernandez, Fierros, Millhiser, McKinley, Armstrong, Hunt, Danika McDonald and Aubrey Burns.  

 The Tigers three-set sweep win over Xavier on Wednesday was a big one as they are now headed into the post season. The Class 6A rankings from last week put Xavier at #6 and Millennium at #13. New rankings are going to come out Thursday with the teams seeded for the upcoming Class 6A State Volleyball Playoffs.