Down a set and losing the second one 9-14, it seemed like Scottsdale Christian Academy would suffer another heartbreaking loss. That’s when a loud chant boomed throughout the gym.

“SCA! SCA! SCA!” chanted the pro-Scottsdale crowd.

The results were immediate. The Eagles scored a point via a misplaced serve by Oviedo. They would then go on a 7-3 run to tie the game 17-17.

But there would not be a fairytale ending. They lost the set and the match. That loss secured them a second-place finish in the gold bracket of the Nike Tournament of Champions and 10th overall in the 96-team field.

“We came in this tournament, not having any expectations, just wanting some high level competition for our kids, and the fact that we finished 10th place overall out of 96 teams from all across the country, we are anything but thrilled and proud of our kids and excited so I think it was good for them to step up and play at this level so we can see what they could do and they did not disappoint.” coach Kim Ohlinger said.

They began the second day of the Nike Tournament with a loss against Marymount from California in straight sets 25-17 and 25-18. This meant  the Sailors advanced to Platinum bracket while the Eagles advanced to the Gold bracket.

It was important for the Eagles to shake off the loss io focus on the next few matches.

They did so by praying.

“There was something about giving up the game to Him,'' said Ohlinger.

 The Eagles soared in their next two matches against tough opposition.

They won in straight sets vs. Lone Peak 25-23 and 25-23 in the quarterfinal match. It was a notable win as Lone Peak is the No. 1 team in Utah, according to Maxpreps.

They followed that up with a victory over California’s Mira Costa in the semi-final in straight sets 25-17 and 26-24. The second set against Mira Costa was especially difficult for the Eagles. They almost blew a 18-7 lead before grinding out a vistory.

Senior Lauren Ohlinger and junior Taylor Raiola led the Eagle offense. They combined for 14 kills in the win against Mira Costa.

The Eagles went on to lose to Oviedo in straight sets 25-20 and 25-22.

For senior Emma Whitehead, one of the captains, this tournament helped them grow as a team.

“I think it's given us a lot of confidence to see that we can play with these big teams and even against the teams we lost to they weren't big losses so I think that we saw how good we can be and how good our chemistry as a team.” said Whitehead.

Scottsdale Christian goes back to league play where it is undefeated (5-0).