Corona Del Sol defeated Mountain Pointe on the road in four sets Friday, bouncing back from a tough loss to Hamilton.

The Aztecs won the first two sets with scores of 27-25 and 25-20. With their backs against the wall, Mountain Pointe responded with an emphatic 25-13 victory in third. The Pride could not build on their momentum, and the Aztecs dominated the last set, winning 25-13.

The win gave the Aztecs a 23-4 record (9-2 in the 6A Central Region).

With playoffs shortly approaching, the Aztecs continue to build momentum heading into the tail end of the season.

“Our team is very resilient. We don’t get too high emotionally and we don’t get too low. If we keep working it will all turn around and we will be okay,” Corona Del Sol head coach Ben Maxfield said.

Corona Del Sol leads the 6A Central Region by two matches, followed by Desert Ridge and Desert Vista.

Mountain Pointe fell to 4-8 in conference and 9-14 overall.

Even as the Aztecs dominated for much of the game, they were able to maintain their focus in part by coaching.

“We need to always be mentally prepared coming into a match, as coaches helping our players to adjust sooner to tendencies,” Maxfield said.

After a tough third set for Corona Del Sol, Maxfield was able to help the team adjust and pull of the win.

The Aztecs have shown they are able to battle adversity when playing away matches throughout the entire season. Corona Del Sol is 4-2 in road matches (not including tournaments), with two losses coming to Xavier Prep (No.1 team in AZ) and Hamilton.

“It is always tough having to go play away games as the opposing team is always looking to bring their A game on their home court,” Maxfield said.

It was a huge game for senior Nicole Newlin, as she continues to provehow dominant she can be. Newlin had a team-high 15 kills (.556 kill percentage).

“As a team we need to continue to work and get better to end up where we would like to be at the end of the season,” Newlin said.

The Aztecs found solid contributions from players all over the court. Freshman Ella Lomigora finished with eight kills (.421 kill percentage) and senior Madelyn Noble matched her with eight kills of her own (.222 kill percentage).

Outside hitter Madelyn Noble also had an outstanding performance alongside Newlin and others.

“We got off to a bad start in the first couple of sets but eventually turned things around,” Noble said.

Corona Del Sol looks forward to competing in the Nike TOC at Chandler on Friday. Following the tournament, the Aztecs will be back on the court Oct. 15 as they take on the Desert Ridge Jaguars on the road.