Sean Brennan is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Dobson High School for AZPreps365.com.

Dobson High School girls’ volleyball team (4-7) was unable to snap its three-match skid on Thursday against Westwood High School. The Mustangs were defeated in three sets (25-15, 25-16 and 25-18). 

Westwood came out firing in the opening set, winning seven of the first eight rallies. Junior Mustangs outside hitter Bella Phipps then recorded a kill to make the score 7-2. Kills from senior outside hitter Tailynn Burcham, junior middle blocker Sienna Tah, and senior outside hitter Monique Thibodeau kept Dobson within striking distance, and the Mustangs trailed 13-7 midway through the set. 

Junior libero Leslie Soto del Hierro launched a serve that the Warriors couldn’t handle, earning Dobson’s first ace of the evening. However, Westwood continued to pour on the points, eventually winning the set by 10. Phipps led the way for Dobson offensively, tallying three kills. Burcham and Tah were also key contributors in set number one, finishing with two kills each. 

Dobson had a stronger start to the next set, as Nadia Range picked up a kill early on to even the score at one. Later in the set, the Mustangs found themselves down 11-6, but quickly erased that deficit by going on a 6-1 scoring run. 

The comeback effort began with Dobson forcing Westwood into two consecutive errors. Burcham then blocked a Warriors’ spike, logging her third kill of the match and narrowing the deficit to 11-9. Westwood quickly regained a three-point lead, but junior setter Megan Goodenough countered during the next rally with her second kill of the set. 

The momentum stayed on Dobson’s side when a Warriors’ spike landed just out of bounds. Burcham then brought the Mustangs another ace, tying the score at 12. 

Westwood ended Dobson’s run by rattling off six unanswered points to take a commanding 18-12 lead. Senior setter Sarah Tompkins recorded another ace, but the Warriors offense proved too much, as they won the set 25-16. 

Up two sets to none, the Warriors opened the third frame by scoring the first six points. A kill from junior middle blocker Maya French stopped the onslaught, but Westwood responded with two more scores, putting them up 8-1. 

However, much like set number two, the Mustangs put together another rally. During the next rally, Goodenough made a diving save leading to Burcham’s fourth kill of the match. The senior outside hitter then recorded an ace, which was followed by a Westwood error and a block by French. 

Trailing by three, Dobson forced the Warriors into another error before Burcham picked up her third ace of the evening, making the score 8-7. However, an ensuing 3-0 scoring run for Westwood stymied the Mustangs’ momentum. The Warriors then pulled away, and a late Dobson comeback attempt wasn’t enough, as they were defeated 25-18 in the third and final set. 

Despite the loss, Burcham and junior opposite hitter Jenn Powers drew some positives from the match. Burcham, who ended the evening with six kills, said that she was proud of how her squad continually encouraged each other during each set. 

“I think it’s from us all sticking together,” Burcham said. “Every time we went into the huddle, we would be like, ‘Hey, good job, keep doing this, listen to coach.’ And it was just the little things that kept us going.” 

Powers added that the Mustangs did a good job of following the gameplan, something they’ve focused more on under first-year head coach Jim Van Wicklin. 

“I think today was one of the days where I saw people saying, ‘Hey, stick to the gameplan, this is what we’re going to do,’” Powers said. “We tried to execute it and we did the best we could.” 

Van Wicklin said he was also impressed, specifically with how the team handled adversity throughout the match. 

“We go back, we remind ourselves of what the strategy is, and then we see some good things come from it,” Van Wicklin said. 

Dobson (4-7) will be back in action today at the Nike Tournament of Champions at Bell Bank Park in Mesa.