Nicole Eldridge
ASU Student Journalist

Higley Defeats Saguaro in Three Sets

September 20, 2017 by Nicole Eldridge, Arizona State University


Higley had a night of success against Saguaro, defeating the Scottsdale school  25-18, 25-18, 25-12.

The sweep made Higley's squad feel good.

“Obviously, three is a lot better for the girls. I mean, just physically wise, it’s not as draining mentally. They don’t have that letdown of a loss or vice versa," head coach Daniel Arrington said. "If you lose in three, you are like ‘oh man, that was tough to fight the whole time.’ When you get to four and five, it is kind of anybody’s game, who is in better shape, who wants it more.”

The height of the success came from the help of Lauryn Harrell and Macie Thelin for the Knights.

“The best moment was my last hit from the right side and it happened because my team was there for me,” Harrell said.

The Knights are 5-1 while playing at home.

The first set started out slow for the Knights when they were having trouble getting points on the board but later found their rhythm and came out on top.

“I told them to go out and have fun. After the Shadow Mountain loss, they got down on themselves and on each other. So yesterday with Youngker was the same thing, slow start, got through it and then today they started clicking again. So it is with every sport, you are going to have your ups and downs. It’s just trying to get that tougher mentality for them,” Arrington said.

The players had to also keep in mind a way to stay motivated and focused on the game.

“I focused a lot for my on passing moving my feet to the ball. I tend to keep moving my feet after I pass, so I focused on not moving my feet when I pass and that kind of transferred over to me hitting and keeping my feet planted and that made me play well,” Thelin said.

Saguaro did not give up and was able to keep the game close, giving Higley a run for their money and making them play hard to earn the win.

A star player for the Sabercats was Coley Bigelow. She was able to earn lots of kills allowing for her team to gain points for the night.

The next game for Higley will be Sept. 25 against Marcos De Niza High School for a conference matchup.