Anna Pratts is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Bourgade Catholic for AZPreps365.com

The Bourgade Catholic Golden Eagles recovered from a one-set deficit and secured a 3-1 victory in close scoring sets over the Phoenix Christian Cougars on Thursday, 23-25, 25-20, 25-21, 25-18. 

This was the Golden Eagles’ third win of the season, making it an emotional night for the three seniors who played their last high school game at Bourgade.

Before announcing the starting lineup for each team, seniors from both teams were celebrated: libero and team captain Natalya Perez, outside hitter Hassani Ceballos and defensive specialist Rachel Quinayas for the Golden Eagles, and defensive specialists Hannah De La Cruz and Marta Vander Mass, outside hitter Leah Walker, middle blocker Claire Dutcher and right-side hitter Anais Sandoval for the Cougars.

The first set determined the tone for the heavily disputed and evenly matched game. There were five lead changes throughout the set, with four back-to-back changes between points 9 to 13. The Golden Eagles took the lead on a tip by junior middle blocker Ashley Rojo, setting the score at 13-12, but the Cougars took the lead and kicked off a four-point run on a kill by freshman setter Drew Walker and sealed a 25-23 set.  

“When three bad points happen we start to get in our heads,” Quinayas said. “That’s what mainly got us, but today I personally think I did my job and that helped the team. We were all hungry for that win.”

Golden Eagles junior outside hitter Katherine Arenivar opened up the second set with a kill, but the Cougars went on an early five-point run to take a comfortable lead. A serve error was enough to allow the Golden Eagles to find their footing, tying the game 9-9 shortly after. Ceballos had two kills and one ace while Arenivar had three kills and one tip to secure the 25-20 second set for the Golden Eagles.

However, several of the points for each team came from errors — either passing, serving or hitting — by their opponents: 13 coming from the Golden Eagles and 14 from the Cougars.

Similar to the first set, the third set had six lead changes. And, similar to the second set, 16 of the Cougars’ 21 points came from errors by the Golden Eagles, while 21 out of the 25 for the Golden Eagles came from errors by the Cougars. Junior middle blocker Mikaela Rascon led Bourgade Catholic with one tip and one kill, while Phoenix Christian had junior setter Brooklyn Clark leading with one block and one kill. 

In need of one more set to secure the win, the Golden Eagles trailed 8-4 at the start of the fourth set. A kill by Rojo — who led Bourgade with five points in the set — sparked a run that got them to an even 8-8, until Rojo and Rascon thought they had blocked a shot, but the Cougars were able to put the ball back over the net as Bourgade started to form a huddle.

“They know that I’m yelling ‘the whistle wasn’t blown yet, so what’s going on?’” Bourgade coach Jesse Santos said about the moment.

The Golden Eagles noticed before the ball hit the ground, putting it back into play. A long and intense rally followed the play, with both teams diving to keep the ball alive as the crowd rose to their feet. The Golden Eagles got the go-ahead point as Cougar junior outside hitter Macie Shores hit the net while trying to tip the ball.

“Honestly, I just wanted to win really bad,” Ceballos said. “I had confidence in my team when those rallies were going on. I didn’t hesitate because I knew my team would be there to cover me, to get it over (the net) and score the ball.”

Santos expressed that the grit that was displayed by Bourgade during that rally, and others alike throughout the game, was just what he was hoping to see from his players during the final game of the season.

“That’s exactly how I wanted them to end the game,” Santos said. “Playing to their full potential, not giving anything to chance.”

As Bourgade led the final set 22-15, Phoenix Christian went on a three-point run, cutting the Golden Eagle’s lead to four points, but a kill from Perez and a strong serve from freshman setter Charlynn Fisher sealed the 25-18 win. 

“It means so much, ending (my volleyball career) on a good note makes me feel like my hard work has paid off,” said Perez, who has played on the varsity team since her freshman year. “I’m so happy to be able to do this with this team.”

The result of the game brought Bourgade Catholic to a final 3-14 overall record and 3-11 in the region, while Phoenix Christian finished with an 11-15 overall record and 5-11 in conference. Placed sixth and fifth, respectively, in the Black Canyon Region, neither team qualified for the playoffs.