Richard Smith

West Valley Preps

Neither Cactus or Deer Valley played the caliber of volleyball those programs or accustomed to - or to the level their coaches believe they are capable of.

But the young Skyhawks were a bit more consistent Tuesday night, and they finished each set.

Deer Valley scored nine of the final 13 points in the first set, and nine of the final 12 in both the second and third sets. It added up to a 25-22, 25-20, 25-21 in the West Valley Region game.

"We're not satisfied with where we are right now but we're getting there," Wallace said. "We definitely need to be more consistent with our offense. I felt like tonight our servicing was on point and kept the pressure on them."

Deer Valley's won boosted the Skyhawks to 7-3 in regular season play and 18-14 overall. Results from their Thursday night game at Lake Havasu were not available but Deer Valley entered ranked No. 7 in its first year in 4A.

After reaching the 4A semifinals in 2017 and losing three key seniors from that team, the Cobras knew there would be some dropoff. But it's safe to say that coach Anthony Puglisi was not expecting a 4-7 start in regular season games - now 5-7 after Thursday night's win against Peoria.

"The team's pretty selfish. Skill wise, they're in it. Mentally, they're just not. They practice well," Puglisi said. "There's not a connection and you don't see it. There's three or four points where we were on a run and we didn't pursue the ball or hit it into the net."

He said there remains a disconnect between the team he sees in practice and the one that shows up for matches.

It's not a deliberate lack of effort. But a collection of talent led by senior outside hitter Brittnie Henige and senior libero Haley Rivera should not be under .500.

"We worked on blocking schemes and a lot of different things that we just didn't do. I'm at a loss," Puglisi said. "We still have the talent. Our right side is a good hitter. We have a Division I outside hitter and I think we have one of the best liberos in the state. We're just not jelling."

Nowhere was the disconnect between practice and games more evident for Cactus than the play of Deer Valley junior middle blocker Savannah Davis. The Cobras worked on ways to avoid her, but that proved difficult once the whistle blew.

David led the Skyhawks with 2 solo blocks and six block assists, and added the team-high nine kills. On the year she also paces Deer Valley with 177 kills and 84 total blocks.

"She is stepping up in that leadership role as a captain," Wallace said.

Davis had a role in three blocks to kick off the late-first-set rally.

She said she enjoyed competing against a hitter of Henige's skill level.

"Playing good teams is my favorite thing to do. I'd rather have a challenge. Knowing I can work hard to stop what they're doing is fun," Davis said.

With five regular season matches left after the Peoria win, there is still time for the Cobras to get in the hunt. Now at No. 14, their coach realizes a trip to the playoff play-in game is liely.

"If they just get a little bit of confidence in themselves, they'll turn it around. The top 24 teams go to play-ins at least. I really think they can do some damage. They hung with Greenway, Flagstaff and Desert Edge. They just can't seem to finish," Puglisi said.

Cactus' Maddie Diveley dives for a ball against Deer Valley on Friday, on Tuesday, Oct. 2, 2018 at Deer Valley High School in Glendale. [Jacob Stanek/West Valley Preps][/caption]