Aryton Temcio is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Chandler Preparatory Academy for AZPreps365.com
The Chandler Prep Titans picked up their fifth straight win with a 3-0 victory in an energetic game against Tempe Prep to stay unbeaten in 2A South.
Chandler Prep entered Thursday night’s game riding a 10-1 record in their last 11 games including four region games.
Energy was the emphasis for the Titans at home, and noise coming from the Chandler Prep football team in the student section made for the perfect storm.
The Titans fed off the energy storming out to a quick 6-1 lead from the help of precise serving from Abbie Unruh, making it nearly impossible for Tempe Prep to send the ball back over. Noise from the Chandler Prep student section continued, as did Unruh’s successful serving, helping Chandler Prep take the first set 25-10.
The Titans were without team captain Nadine Spencer-Walters, who had a protective boot wrapped around her ankle that has kept her out since late September.
“I was blocking in a game and I landed on a girl’s foot on the outside, and I thought it was nothing,” Spencer-Walters said. “I didn’t do a fracture or a break, but I sprained it pretty bad.”
Spencer-Walters plans on being back for Chandler Preps’ Senior Night on Oct. 25 and her teammates are all looking forward to her return.
“It’s been a little hard because she is a big presence at the net,” Juliet Mason said. “I think we’re all just waiting for her to come back.”
Tempe Prep took advantage of the absence of Spencer-Walters at the beginning of the second set, coming out to a 6-2 lead, capitalizing off Chandler Prep mistakes.
“We had a lineup change, and usually when that happens, they kind of have miscommunications here and there,” said coach Courtnee Oglesby. “Even if you have a different girl out there than usual, you should still be playing the same.”
The Titans quickly flipped the score, forcing Tempe Prep to use its first timeout trailing, 10-7.
After the timeout, Tempe Prep fans tried to regain confidence by stomping on the bleachers and cheering.
Unfortunately for the Knights, this did little to stop the Titans as Olivia Romesburg completed four aces in a row to pull away to a 22-12 lead before ending the set, 25-15.
Tempe Prep came out fighting in the third and final set going back and forth with the Titans and rallying with each other until the score was 10-10. Due to unconverted serves from the Knights, Chandler Prep began to pull away, but the rallies did not stop.
Late in the set Unruh dove for an acrobatic, one-handed save that continued the possession for Chandler Prep. The effort energized the crowd and ended up getting the Titans a pivotal point to stretch the lead to the largest margin in the third set, 11-17.
This and the continuous involvement from the Chandler Prep crowd sparked the final push needed from the Titans to close the game out.
In desperation, Tempe Prep called a late timeout at 22-14 but the Knights couldn’t rally, losing the final set 25-14.
“The girls put in the work, and that’s really all I can ask for,” Oglesby said. “They want to win really bad, and they do whatever they can to win.”
Chandler Prep looks to keep its winning streak alive and its undefeated regional record intact against the Sequoia Pathway Academy Pumas on October 16 in Chandler.