Gannon Hanevold
ASU Student Journalist

Paradise Valley struggles against visiting Falcons

October 22, 2020 by Gannon Hanevold, Arizona State University


Sophomore setter Bella Valverde spikes a ball into the Cactus Shadows defense during a conference game on Tuesday, October 20, 2020.

Gannon Hanevold is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Paradise Valley High School for AZPreps365.com.

 

PHOENIX - The Paradise Valley volleyball team found themselves in the land of the lost during a Tuesday night bout with the Cactus Shadows Falcons at William Farrell Gymnasium.  Fresh off a narrow five-set loss the night before, the Trojans fell in straight sets, 25-11, 25-16 and 25-10. were noticeably off-balance early in the first set. 

Setter Jadyn Armstrong also says the Trojans' hard-fought five-set loss on Monday played a factor in the Trojans’ performance on Tuesday. “When we came into this game," Armstrong said, "we were kind of dwelling on yesterday."

The Trojan malaise was apparent at the outset. The score was quickly 10-2 in favor of the Falcons after first-set kills by Kamryn Gibadlo and Lauren Wamsley. 

With the score 13-5 moments later, the Trojans were ready to turn the tide when Madeline Muller scored off a block and the team could celebrate being on the right end of a powerful play. 

The next point told the story of the game. A ball dug by the Paradise Valley defense soared into the rafters, clinked against two angled supports and an elevated basketball hoop, and fell anticlimactically to the floor. 

They went on to lose the first set 25-11. 

In the second set, junior Jadyn Armstrong kept the Trojans motivated, snake-eyeing the defense with sneaky tips over the net, but it wasn’t enough to even the score.

Trailing 16-8, sophomore Bella Valverde became the catalyst, scoring twice in a 5-0 run by the Falcons. 

After the game, head coach Jessica Spencer said Valverde was “on fire”. 

Valverde says that when the game isn’t going well, she focuses on staying locked in for the sake of the team. 

The momentum that Valverde and Armstrong sparked was gone in minutes and the team ended up losing 25-16 in the set.

Cactus Shadows was noticeably playing in sync, each player a vital organ in a unified system. 

On the other side of the net, Paradise Valley was disjointed, playing like limbs without a torso. They simply couldn’t keep up. 

The Trojans lost the third set 25-10.

Paradise Valley was swept by a team they lost a narrow four-set battle with just weeks earlier, and head coach Jessica Spencer was visibly frustrated. 

“My team was playing individually,” said Spencer. “They didn’t show up.”

Armstrong could see the same individuality on the court as a player. “I think as a team, we work really well," said Armstrong, "but lately, we’ve been pretty individual. Our mental state needs to be a lot better.”

Sophomore Bella Valverde echoed the same feelings, but noted that this game isn’t an isolated incident.

“We repeatedly do that,” Valverde said. “We’ll lose a couple of games and then we’ll go into the next game less confident.”

Paradise Valley will host the undefeated Horizon Huskies on Thursday, the second game in a three-game homestand. 

Coach Spencer was at a loss for words as to how to right the ship going forward, but had her eyes set on the rest of the week’s practices. “I don’t know how much more I can tell them than we’ve already told them,” said Spencer. “They need to get together and play as a team. They need to try harder.”