Sandra Day O’Connor shared some “interesting choice words and match film sessions" after the 6A preseason favorite lost in the semifinals of the Chandler Wolf Howl Tournament.

There may have been a couple of more things said after it dropped the first game in Wednesday’s big home match against the Brophy Broncos.

But the Eagles regrouped to secure a 23-25, 25-16, 25-14, 25-19 victory over a team that came in 10-0.

In the final of the Wolf Howl on Saturday, the Broncos defeated the squad that beat SDO in that tournament's semifinals, Perry.

“We didn’t have the tournament that we liked,” SDO coach Troy Dueling said. “This was a big test for us and to respond after the Wolf Howl with this kind of win it’s big.”

The pin hitters for both teams did most of the lifting on the offensive side for both teams, with the main lynchpins being SDO’s Finn Kearney and Brophy’s Connor Oldani.

The Division I-bound stars took turns taking one big swing after another. SDO’s just had a bit more firepower and was more consistent offensively.

But with two and a half months left in the season, there’s still plenty of time for Brophy and SDO (10-1) to make more adjustments.

“This is a great match for us,” said Brophy coach Tony Oldani. “We are coming off a weekend in which we did really well but didn’t get to play them (SDO). We know that’s the No. 1 team in the state. We know they’ve got firepower at every position. So this was a good litmus test for us to know what we need to improve on to hopefully have a crack at them at state.”

Oldani’s boys trailed 21-17 in the first game after a kill and tip by one of SDO’s muscle men, Braeden Baker.

But Brophy wasn't done. After a Brophy timeout in which Tony had a heart-to-heart with his group, the Broncos responded.

A couple of blocks and back row dig led to a point that knotted the first game at 21-21. An Oldani kill followed before SDO took a timeout but to no avail.

Errors on SDO’s side handed four of Brophy’s final six Game 1 points. A more focused SDO team didn’t trail in the second game, when Brophy called its first timeout while trailing 12-3.

The third game, when SDO began to pull away after it was up 14-12, was highlighted by the play of each team’s right side hitters. But the fourth game was when both teams were at their best, as that final game was tied 14 times.

SDO led 16-15 when setter Keagin Christensen went to Kearney for back-to-back kills, forcing Brophy to call a timeout. An Oldani kill off a block and SDO service error left Brophy trailing 19-18, but that’s as close it would get the rest of the way.

Kearney capped the match with back-to-back aces. The Hawaii commit may just have the best left arm swing in the state.

“We just came out wanting it more than them in my opinion,” Kearney said. “They are a team we have to respect and throughout all of the sets we couldn’t let off the gas.”

Up next for SDO is a trip to San Diego this week for the Best of the West Tournament.

Finn Kearney's high serve toss allows him to have one the strongest serves in the state. (Jose Garcia/azprps365 photo).