Amber LeTarte looked up at the scoreboard and saw her team was down 22-19 in the fourth set of the Division II state championship game held at Mesquite High School Wednesday night. Oro Valley Ironwood Ridge was on the verge of forcing a high-stakes fifth set where anything could happen but her Phoenix Sunnyslope squad had been here before. Many times before.

Since 2006, LeTarte had guided the Vikings to six championships. She had learned along the way that her athletes had a tendency to play until there was nothing left to play for.

"I'm proud of my girls because they never let up," explained LeTarte. "They played knowing every point was important. They fought emotions and turned it around."

It was emotions and mistakes, along with an aggressive Nighthawk squad, that got the best of the Vikings in the first set. Aunesty Jantz delivered kill after kill and Sunnyslope responded with several net violations and service errors.  When it was all over, Bill Lang had guided his team to a 25-16 win over Sunnyslope.

That did not look like the defending champions but it was also a fabulous display of what kind of talent Lang had on the court.

"We came out aggressive and swinging," said Lang. "They seemed a little tight on the other side but then we went away from what worked for us."

It was as if someone had flipped a switch on both sides. As their 43-5 record suggested, Sunnyslope was not going to continue playing the way they did in the first set. The Nighthawks (30-11) needed to continue attacking but went with touches at the net and that played into the hands of juniors Skylar Wine, Libby Fleury, Katie Oleksak, Emma Wright and senior Sydney Miller.

In a flash, the Vikings took the second set 25-17 and the third 25-16. In the second, the Vikings were only up 19-17 but then went on a hitting spree to outscore Ironwood Ridge 6-0 down the stretch. The third set was never quite close.

Then the switch was flipped again.

"It was obviously a valiant effort," added Lang. "But it takes a lot of emotion and energy to sustain a comeback against a great team like Sunnyslope. We weren't sure if we had enough for a fifth set."

Jordan Weatherless, Baylie Stephens, Sarah Gosciminski, Lanea Tuiasosopo, McKenna McCabe and Jantz played like there was no tomorrow and the Ironwood Ridge student section was so loud that almost nothing could be heard. It was deafening.

Up 18-15, it looked like Ironwood Ridge had turned things around but a couple of misses helped Sunnyslope take a 19-18 run. But a service error, an ace from Jantz, a double-hit and a kill by Jantz gave the Nighthawks a 22-20 lead and the crowd got louder.

"I told my girls Ironwood Ridge was up for this because they wanted it so bad," added LeTarte. "They are a good team and that was such great motivation for them. We had to find a way."

And, just like that, they did.

Fleury put one down, Ironwood Ridge failed to get the next ball over and Miller scored to tie it up 22-22. Momentum had switched again and now the Sunnyslope faithful was getting into the match.

6-foot-3 Wright blocked at the net and then Oleksak scored to put Sunnyslope on the brink of another state championship. Wright's next offering left her hand and the crowd knew it was over before the ball hit the court.

"I hope this doesn’t define my girls," said Lang. "I'm proud of what they did this year. They are born competitors and they left it all on the court."

In the world of Division II volleyball, only one of over 60 teams will be crowned champion when the season is over.  If a team sets holding up a trophy as their only goal then odds are they will fail.

Lang guided a team full of champions. The chemistry on the court and on the bench is evident and you only have chemistry through positive teamwork and leadership. They found themselves in a magical position that a lot of teams would have killed for.

Many times, the goal of being a great team with great players is harder to come by than a trophy. Trophies are stored in a cabinet somewhere and jerseys have to be turned in.

Sure, some will relive perceived mistakes for a few years because they are competitors but time will turn those errors into memoires that will blend with the fact that they won 30 games and they will certainly miss their teammates.  Their jerseys will not define them.

On the other side, Sunnyslope won their seventh title in a very short period of time. It's an incredible accomplishment and they are poised to do it once more next fall with all of their juniors coming back.

At some point, the championships will blur to a point where one won't be distinguishable from the other. That is also unfortunate. As crazy as it seems, very few people will remember what year it was that they scored six straight points to win a championship.

The players, however, will remember this forever.

 

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