Estela Anahi Jaramillo is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Cortez High School for AZPreps365.com.

Senior Skyler Starchman’s return shifted the energy for Cortez High School’s matchup on Tuesday night. Although she was back after fighting a sickness, Desert Sunrise posted a 3-1 win over the Colts. 

The Golden Hawks won the first set 25-20. However, the Colts turned the game around and won a 25-21 second set. Desert Sunrise responded, winning a 25-7 third set and a 25-13 fourth set.

“We definitely feed off of each other's energy,” said senior Kailey Vasquez. “She's one of our main sources that we feed off of because she's always so joyful and that makes a huge difference.”

Starchman ended the game with three kills, three blocks, and five aces, making a run for the Colts. Cortez coach Alberto Ramos said Starchman is a team player who tries to push her team to succeed physically and help them overcome emotional difficulties during the game.

 “She gets everybody on the ball, and that's why we love how she plays,”  Ramos said. 

The Colts' high energy during the first two sets helped them as the game continued. The Golden Hawks and the Colts played a close 25-20 first set. The win for the first-set rally, although the Colts' energy was still high with the second-set comeback. Riding the adrenaline, Cortez won 25-21. 

Cortez’s Mikaela Blanchette and Kimora Coleman had three kills each for the 25-21 second set win. Both teams struggled with errors, which added to the opposing teams' scores. 

“I feel like we lost focus there. But we had a nice little talk, and they came back to put it away,” Desert Sunrise coach Gabe Jenkins said. “Making sure that they understand what type of team they want to be.”

The Golden Hawks' reaction to falling in the second set was a sweep in the third set. Desert Sunrise’s outside hitter Kaitlyn Kientzler hit six kills in the third set to clinch a 25-7 win. Meanwhile, Cortez was fighting difficulties with emotion and communication. 

Once the third-set jitters caught up to the Colts, high emotions and communication issues resulted in a 25-7 third-set loss. 

“I think it was the anxiety – it was the last set, and there was a lot of pressure,” Vasquez said. 

During the fourth set, Golden Hawks’ Jasell Holbert and Savannah Edmonson pushed their team to victory with three kills each, winning the set 25-13. Jenkins said the discussion after the second-set loss woke the team up to compete at a higher level. 

“They have to make better choices for themselves if they want to be known as a good team,” Jenkins said. “They can't just go out there. They have to prove it, and we want to prove it every single time we step on the floor.”

Ramos said the team spoke about what kind of players they want to be before the game.

“We had a discussion before the game, and what was said was that you should make a commitment to do your personal best,” Ramos said. 

Cortez (2-10, 0-1) travels to Yuma (0-6) at 6 p.m. Thursday.