By Brittany Bowyer
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PHOENIX — It was an emotional night for both #5 Pinnacle and #12 Higley on Thursday following the 6A volleyball playoff match.

For Pinnacle, there was excitement and joy as they were able to sweep Higley 3-0 and advance to the quarterfinals of the playoffs. Meanwhile for Higley, it was a crushing end to the season for the Knights.

“I think it was great,” Pinnacle Head Coach Caitlin Lord said. “We knew Higley was going to be a tough team. We knew that they were 'shotty' and were going to push our defense, so it was going to be a challenge for our offense to be efficient and figure out how to score against them.”

The sets were close, with all three having the potential to have gone either way, but the Pioneers were able to dig deep to find what they needed to close out the sets and get the job done.

Set one started off in favor or Higley, with the Knights jumping out to a quick 4-1 lead. Pinnacle came back to tie things at four, but then Higley went on another run, highlighted by back-to-back aces from sophomore Brynn Garrett. Pinnacle battled back to tie things at 11 with an ace from senior Emma Elbert, but Higley was able to inch back out into the lead.

Following a block from Pinnacle and a violation by Higley, Pinnacle was able to take a 13-12 lead in the first set. The lead would be short-lived, as Higley would come back to take a 16-15 lead off another ace by Garrett. Pinnacle stayed right on Higley’s heels, and following a kill from Elbert and an Ace from junior Gabriella Batt, the Pioneers were back on top 18-17. After a kill from senior Kylie Sehnal put the Pioneers up 20-18, Higley called a timeout in the set to try to regroup.

Coming out of the timeout, Higley senior Taryn Thelin had a kill followed by a block to tie things at 20. Pinnacle answered with three consecutive kills from seniors Emma Minor and Addison Nicks to jump back out to a 23-20 lead and force Higley to utilize their second timeout. Higley was able to put up a block coming out of the timeout, but Pinnacle ultimately got the job done, closing out the first set 25-21 and taking a 1-0 lead.

“[Nicks] is everything for this team,” Lord said. “She’s a four-year varsity letter winner, she’s been on this team and leading it for a very long time. She really drives our offense. She brings that kind of spark and fire to a team that is otherwise typically very calm. Not only does she go out and do her job all the time, she also inspires everyone to push just a little bit harder.”

Set two was all Pinnacle early, as the Pioneers jumped out to an early 8-1 lead. Higley called a timeout in an effort to regroup, but Pinnacle was able to tack on two more coming out of the timeout on kills by Minor and Nicks. After falling behind 10-1, Higley finally started to come to life in the second set. The Knights had a lot of ground to make up, but they were slowly able to cut the lead to 15-10.

Unfortunately for the Knights, a violation followed by an ace from Batt put the Pioneers up 17-10 and forced Higley to burn their second timeout.

Scratching and clawing their way back, Higley went on a 10-3 run to cut Pinnacle’s lead to just 22-20. In the whirlwind of events, Pinnacle called a timeout to try to stop Higley’s momentum, but it would be a big feat. On back-to-back aces from sophomore Taylor Boothe, the Knights tied things at 22.

Pinnacle was not going to be denied, though, and answered by scoring three straight on a kill from Nicks, a floater from Elbert and another kill from Nicks. Pinnacle was able to narrowly survive and take set two 25-22, putting them up 2-0.

Higley, feeling the pressure of elimination, got off to a hot start in set three. The Knights worked their way out to a quick 5-1 lead, but before they knew it, Pinnacle had come back to tie things at 7-7. From there, both teams fought to establish dominance for a while before Pinnacle was able to work out to a 16-12 lead. After kills from Minor and Nicks put the Pioneers up 18-13, Higley called what would be its second timeout of the set.

“I think the response they had was great,” Lord said. “We’ve been talking about response a lot throughout the season, kinda going up and down with some of the higher seed teams. So, they showed that really well tonight.”

Senior Mazie Fulton came alive for the Knights, helping them to rally back and tie things at 20.

Pinnacle called a timeout, knowing they just needed five more points to close out the set, but it would be easier said than done.

Higley and Pinnacle continued to fight for the lead, and with Higley on top 23-22, Pinnacle called another timeout. Elbert had a kill coming out of the break to tie things at 23, but a serve out of bounds would put Higley on top 24-23.

“This team has been really focused on our preparation all year and being calm when things are not always necessarily going our way,” Lord said. “We typically just give them the reminder that we’ve been here, we’re a battle-tested team. We’ve focused on this all year, so they can stay calm and keep playing through the tough points like that.”

Minor answered with a kill to tie things, before Nicks put the game away with kills on the last two rallies of the set. It wasn’t their best set, but the Pioneers found a way to get the job done and take set three 26-24, defeating Higley 3-0.

Pinnacle will now prepare to face #4 Highland on the road on Tuesday, Nov. 10 at Desert Ridge High School. Coach Lord said this is a special group of girls, and she feels strongly about their ability to make a run at the title.

“I think we feel great,” Lord said. “We are prepared. This team has said from the beginning of the year that they want to make a push for state, and we as their coaches have felt that they are so capable of it. So, they’re ready, they’re prepared, they’re confident. We can’t wait to keep going with them. They’re a great group of kids who are really going to work hard.”

Brittany Bowyer is a Report for America corps member, covering sports for Independent Newsmedia in Arizona. Report for America places talented journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues and regions.