Ashanti Thompson is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Deer Valley High School for AZPreps365.com 

PEORIA -- Deer Valley unexpectedly fell short on Thursday night in all three sets, finishing 25-23, 25-22, and 25-21 against the Peoria Panthers. 

Despite the Sky Hawks opening set one with a 13-4 lead, the Panthers didn’t give up. After a Deer Valley service error, Peoria went on a 7-0 run to tie it at 19.

“Getting points back little by little, and then being tied and winning it, the energy was super fun,” senior captain Megan Schaffer said. 

Schaffer has played all four years at Peoria and is looking to continue playing in college, visiting schools as far away as Kentucky. As a middle and outside hitter, she tallied six kills against the Sky Hawks, but found the energy to be the best part of the game. 

“Just being loud and cheering after everything, even if we don’t get the point,” Schaffer said. “Still being like no, you're good, like, you got the next one, and not getting down on yourself.” 

Set two began completely different with the Panthers gaining the lead early on a 4-0 run. The Sky Hawks tied it at 8-8, but the Panthers responded with an 11-4 run to take a 20-12 lead. Still looking for a win, the Sky Hawks pushed three back-to-back kills from outside hitter Izzy Darnell, but couldn’t keep up the momentum and lost 25-22 on a miscommunication error. 

Freshman Maja Vojvodic was responsible for two massive kills and one ace on the night. Vojvodic is an outside hitter and a noticeable voice on the court.

“We keep going forward and just keep progressing to get better,” Vojvodic said.

The Panthers displayed a strong serve-receive and defense, giving up only six aces. Deer Valley recorded 40 kills, 23 of which came from Darnell, the Sky Hawks' senior captain. 

“We spent literally two hours a night for the last five nights working on serve receive coverage,” Peoria coach Ben Markley said. 

The third set opened similarly to the second. The Panthers took the lead early, before the Sky Hawks were able to squeeze ahead, 16-15. Peoria quickly gained control, winning the game 25-21, the largest lead of the night, on a hitting error from the Sky Hawks. 

“I’ve been coaching with the school for 18 years, but this is the first time they asked me to take over the program,” Markley said. “We’re starting to turn a point, and we have a few more games left this season, and we’re looking to finish strong.”

Deer Valley and Peoria will face each other again on Oct. 27 at 7 p.m. when the Sky Hawks celebrate Senior Night.