Mesquite felt the rush that often comes when playing a highly-ranked team. In Wednesday's case an unbeaten one in 4A power-ranking matches -- Seton Catholic - as the regular season winds down.

Mesquite, however, couldn't ride the wave of its come-from-behind, first set triumph, gradually losing momentum and the match to No. 3 Seton in four sets. Scores were 25-27, 25-21, 25-10 and 25-17 at Seton Catholic.

Seton is closer to clinching the 4A Desert Sky Region title with the victory. The Sentinels are 27-7 overall, 15-0 in power ranking matches and 8-0 in region. The only region foe with a chance to catch the Sentinels is Marcos de Niza (7-1). #13 Mesquite fell to 16-14 overall, 3-5 region and 7-8 in power-ranking matches.

"You play a team that's undefeated and you come out with a lot of energy," Mesquite coach Carlos Flys said. "The match goes on, and then you start to question can we really do this?"

Flys wasn't discouraged with the loss, noting his team has improved as the season's progressed. At some point, the Wildcats will need to harness energy for a full match when teams in the top 10 come calling in postseason.

Seton is a tough nut to crack. All the Sentinels losses are to 6A and 5A schools. They have yet to lose to a 4A opponent, although they've faced only two in the top 10 (Marcos de Niza and Deer Valley). They swept Marcos and topped Deer Valley 3-1.  They have not faced the teams ahead of them in the power rankings - Defending champ Salpointe and Greenway.

So how has Seton managed its outstanding season to date? Coach Patti Schoenhardt has an explanation.

"This is a very unselfish team," Schoenhardt said. "Mesquite is a tough defensive team and we needed time check out their defense and see what we could do. We got better as the match went on."

Per normal at least eight players registered a handful of kills as junior setter Delaney Shearon was busy making sure the defense had its hands full. Unofficial kill totals had middle Jessica Kuras leading with 13, followed by middle Katie Bannon (9), middle Emily Dutton (8), outside hitter Leighton Gagnon (6) outside Nicole Fullmer (5) and Margaret Scranton (4). Shearon finished with a fistful as well (4).

Seton has two matches left, both at home. On Thursday its opponent is Arcadia and on Oct. 23  Marcos de Niza. Mesquite plays host to Poston Butte on Thursday and finishes up on the road Oct. 23 at Arcadia. Mesquite is in line to host a play-in game if it remains in the top 16 of the power rankings.