Trojans, rest of 3A have no answer for Crusaders

November 22, 2020 by George Werner, AZPreps365


The Northwest Christian High School volleyball program owes its third straight 3A conference title to core hitters, from left, McKenzie Wise, Molly Kipp, Reagan Hope and Kierstyn Barton. As Wise, Kipp and Hope are seniors, however, only Barton will be returning for an attempt at a fourth straight title. (Photo courtesy Jenna Hope)

Ready for an Open Division volleyball tournament?

Northwest Christian High School’s eight seniors certainly were after their third straight 3A title Saturday, Nov. 21, 25-17, 25-19, 25-19 over Valley Christian High School.

Hope springs eternal for their head coach as well.

“I wish we could’ve done it this year or last year, to be honest,” Crusaders head coach Jenna Hope said after her third straight state title sweep. “What would be great is if they had a Tournament of Champions--1A through 6A, play it out. Our girls want to always play the best.”

Time--at least one full, coronavirus-unblemished, season--will tell whether the Crusaders just enjoyed an amazing run the last three years or, with 10 titles in six different sports since joining the 3A Conference in 2014, are ready for the next level of competition.

After scoring four of the Crusaders’ final nine points in a 9-3 run that broke a 16-16 tie, nobody was more confident than outside hitter McKenzie Wise.

“I knew we’d win,” said the senior, who was unstoppable from the left side of the Northwest Christian net, amassing 16 total kills. “Everything just clicked together in that moment.

“Last year, I wasn’t able to be in this moment because I had hip surgery, but I felt confident in how I was hitting, and I knew somebody had to pull away.”

Credit, Wise added, should also go to senior Molly Kipp’s 37 assists. Kipp set up Wise and Reagan Hope, who added 15 kills, in their final matches as Crusaders.

“We’re honestly leaving a great legacy,” said Hope, who, along with Kipp and Wise, will all be playing volleyball at NCAA Division I schools next year. “This definitely was the toughest win.”

Lindy Ramsland, head coach of the third-seeded Trojans, and her eight core returners from last season’s title loss at the hands of the Crusaders were set on it being much tougher.

Two of those returners, however, were unavailable due to injuries, including Ramsland’s first substitute off the bench, senior Ella Womack, who had to be carried off the floor after dislocating her knee during warmups.

“They were upset. That really got into their heads [and] messed with their minds, seeing their teammate leave the court,” said Ramsland, who had just pulled off the upset of second seed Snowflake High School in the semifinals in straight sets an hour earlier. “It was not pretty. It was tough to recover emotionally and regain our composure from that.”

It showed in the second set, where despite a team-leading three aces by libero Macy McClain, two straight errors at the net ultimately cost the Trojans the match.

Facing elimination, the Trojans did not intend to go quietly. Senior Emma Richardson’s kill got them out to an early 5-1 advantage in Game 3. But then Hope called time out to regroup with her team.

“I just said to the girls, ‘We know how to play the game. Take a deep breath, just calm yourself from the inside and just play the game,’” she recalled. “So it’s really about them not getting wrapped up in everything happening but doing what they need to do with the ball.”

Senior Jadeyn Shaw definitely did, getting the Crusaders the lead back after their second straight ace.

The rest, as Reagan Hope put it, was legacy.