Adam Maggard is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Leading Edge Academy for AZPreps365.com

The Leading Edge Spartans were defeated Tuesday by the Arete Prep Chargers in a match that went to three sets, 25-21, 25-13, and 25-18.

The issue for the Spartans tonight was their communication and inability to overcome adversity when they had a bad swing of events. 

For the Spartans, tonight marks their last game of the regular season. Although it was an unfortunate season, finishing with only two wins, the Spartans will return next year with an older, more experienced team. 

“Next season will be interesting for sure. We only graduate one senior, so a lot of players are returning. But I think it'll be really fun, especially walking into my senior year. It's definitely gonna be a lot more hard-working, considering we lost a very important player. But I think it will just be fun overall," said Hayley Foster, a junior on the Spartans. 

The Spartans found themselves in a close first set, losing the set by only four points after being down 21-13 during the set. The second set was by far the worst for the Spartans, who struggled to get much going after a close start where they, at one point, led 7-6 before ultimately losing the set 25-13. 

In the third and final set, the Spartans controlled early at one point, leading 16-9. This was before they gave up 14 points in a row to the Chargers, who took advantage of the momentum, ultimately winning the final set 25-18. 

Coach Marcy Moyar felt her team could have done better in one important part of the match.

“My team needs to improve on their mentality as that is the hardest part of the game to win," she said. 

The biggest issue tonight for the Spartans had to be their communication, which ultimately ended up costing them in every round. The other thing the Spartans lacked was the drive and mentality to push through the adversity they faced. 

“Just keep going like us, pushing us for us to keep going and win the game, but we tried,” sophomore Armani Ramirez, said when asked what her team's most significant takeaway from the season was. 

While the Spartans could not win this match, they will look to put that past them as they set their sights on next year. 

“The biggest takeaway I honestly think is losing sucks. That's honestly my biggest takeaway. But it can honestly shape you into becoming a better player, becoming mentally a better player for not just your teammates but for you even on the outside of playing a sport,” Foster said. "This season has been the hardest physically and mentally, especially for our upperclassman because of gaining new players and teaching them how to play the game.

"It's just really frustrating. But at the same time, it's fun teaching them our way of learning because we were them at one point, and obviously, it wasn't really great for our upper class. But it was fun, it's heartbreaking, it's honestly just the vision of the future.” 

While the season wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows for the Spartans, there were still memorable moments.

“Honestly, our lowerclassmen building their confidence that we needed them to build," Foster said. "Because our upperclassmen are hitters, passers, and setters, they have a better mentality than our younger ones, and it's just great to see all they have accomplished this season. Even though, again, it is really frustrating, I am really proud of the younger ones.” 

For the Spartans, continuing to keep their head up through adversity and believing in their team will be the keys to success in the future. With such a young team, there is lots of room for players to develop and progress. The Spartans will continue to work to do so as they begin their offseason very soon.  

“Our team was a very young team this year," Moyar said. "When you have a young team, you have to look through the long lines of development and build on each game. You can’t expect excellence immediately, we must be patient and look for small pieces to put in place to develop a program, not just a season.”