Keenan Vaughan is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Mountain Ridge High School for AZPreps365.com

GLENDALE, Ariz. - Every single member of the Valley Vista home crowd stands up simultaneously and quickly fills the gymnasium with thunderous clapping during player introductions while the Mountain Lions huddle together in the backcourt.

Little did these teams know, those fans would never have a reason to sit back down.

Mountain Ridge girls volleyball came up empty in a 3-0 defeat at 6A West Valley opponent Valley Vista High School on Monday, October 24, which puts the their hopes of reaching the state playoffs in jeopardy.

“We didn’t really lose the game as if they beat us,” defensive specialist Heejin Kim said after the game. “It was almost like we gave it away. We had so much potential and we definitely could’ve won.”

The first set saw the Mountain Lions in a constant back-and-forth where senior opposite hitter and team captain Hailey Meeks’ four kills sparked a rally from an early deficit.

“I thought her performance was really good,” junior libero Mia Hodor said. “She’s one of our top hitters, and she’s very secure to have around. I can really depend on her.”

Despite the team’s efforts, untimely errors and offensive inaccuracy led to an eventual 25-18 defeat in the first set. Any momentum deflated in the second set when the wheels came off with Head Coach Kelly Kress reminding players to get into position and stay focused. 

“I don’t think we mean to do it but it happens,” Hodor said about her coach's peptalk. “We all have hard days and we all can’t get into the game sometimes, so you kind of zone out. You can’t really lock in.”

With their backs against the wall, the Mountain Lions found a renewed spirit in the third set. After sophomore middle Keira Caldwell slammed down her sixth kill of the match, her teammates on the court and the bench roared to life and displayed of their belief in getting loud no matter the score.

“We just have a really great community of girls,” Hodor said. “We just support each other with the laughing and smiling and making jokes that bring out the noise.”

Mountain Ridge fought hard to keep it close before losing 19-25, handing Valley Vista an out-of-region sweep.

Coach Kress's postgame speech after the gamecalled out those deciding to mentally check out and emphasized the need to stay focused entering the homestretch of the season.

“It’s just keeping them engaged at all,” Kress said. “We’ve been going strong since July with camps and they’ve got schooling and personal lives. It’s just a lot of different things. Eyes on the prize as they say. Why are we here and what are the goals?”

Sitting in fourth in the 6A Desert Valley standings with a 1-4 regional record and three games remaining against Boulder Creek, Pinnacle and Sandra Day O’Connor, Mountain Ridge’s loss against the Monsoon leaves little to no room for error.

“My ultimate goal for the season is to keep going with things,” Kress said. “Every team and program is going to have setbacks and speed bumps along the way. It’s how we are going to get up after today, how is practice going to be tomorrow and Wednesday and get ready for senior night on Thursday.”