Katie Thomas
ASU Student Journalist

Scottsdale Christian Sweeps Glendale Prep; Heads to State Championship

November 4, 2017 by Katie Thomas, Arizona State University


No. 1 ranked Scottsdale Christian Academy showed its dominance by sweeping Glendale Prep, punching a ticket to the 2A State Volleyball Championship on Saturday night.

The Eagles' two outside hitters put on a clinic that was too much for No. 5 Glendale to handle. Senior Lexi Schamadan and junior Lauren Ohlinger combined for 28 kills out of the teams total of 35.

“They are a huge dynamic,” coach Kim Ohlinger said. “They’re our go-to hitters, they have the drive on the court and the competiveness behind it, they want to win.”

Regardless of the strong hitting performance, Scottsdale Christian’s win had to be earned, it would not be given. The top-ranked team stood in the spotlight and Glendale Prep had its sights set on a takedown.

“I would rather have a target on our back and people coming after us,” Ohlinger said. “We need to be able to figure out how to handle that pressure, how to stay humble and still be successful.”

The scrappy Griffins battled defensively and held their own in all three sets, but were outmatched by Kim Ohlinger’s crew.

Glendale Prep came out of the gate hot, taking an early 3-0 lead in the first set. Scottsdale would then score four consecutive points behind Schamadan's serves and took over from there.

“We had some chaotic moments,” said Schamadan, a Central Washington commit. “But we were able to trust each other and put the ball away.”

A perfectly placed set from Kalli Bentz to freshman middle hitter Sophia Wadsworth for the kill would end a rally and the set, Scottsdale Christian took the first game 25-15.

Wadsworth finished with six kills and Bentz with 33 assists.

GlendalePrep, however, would not go away easily.

Jessica Vargas, who leads the team with 276 kills on the year, put on an impressive showing. Her kill would cut her teams deficit to only one point, but Scottsdale had an answer for everything Glendale threw at them, as a true No. 1 team would.

In the second set, their answer was Lauren Ohlinger.

The Boise State commit hammered home five kills to close out the second set, leading her team to a 25-17 win and to go up 2-0.

“Lauren has a calm confidence,” Olhinger said of her daughter. “She is able to blow off her mistakes and she doesn’t get in her own head. You love that in a player cause there’s no emotional rollercoaster.”

Down two games to none, Glendale Prep could have but did not roll over. Scottsdale had a 18-12 lead in the third set that was later cut to 24-20 by the feisty girls of Glendale Prep.

Scottsdale Christian struggled to put the ball away on match point. Schamadan and Ohlinger found a helpful hand from teammate Emma Whitehead, who’s energy and effort was the cherry on top of an excellent team performance.

Whitehead, who leads her team with 224 digs on the year, finished with seven digs and an entire stat sheet worth of extra effort plays.

A Whitehead dig followed by a Bentz set and a Schamadan hit, which was a very common thread for the Eagles, completed the sweep of Glendale and sent them on their way to compete for the 2A State Championship against familiar foe Veritas Prep.

“Of course I’m nervous, but no regrets, I’ll leave it all out there,” Schamadan said.

The 2A state championship game will take place at 5 p.m. at North High School.