Richard Smith

West Valley Preps

Anyone watching the Kellis at Cactus boys volleyball game Thursday night would have been surprised to learn the Cobras entered the night ranked #7 in 5A while the Cougars came in #25.

Kellis (4-3 regular season, 8-7 overall) certainly looked like the top 10 team in a dominant performance, sweeping Cactus (5-2, 7-6) 25-16, 25-16, 25-14.

The rout bumped the Cougars ranking to #19 as of Friday. More importantly, coach David Thistle hopes, his team now has a standard of play they will hit more regularly.

"We're still learning a lot. What we're lacking sometimes is consistency," Thistle said. "We're better than our record suggests. When you lose matches and you're outscoring teams, that says a lot about you. Today was the best rhythm we've played with."

Cactus never really lead in the match, except for a brief 5-2 advantage in game two. Kellis responded with an 9-1 run capped by an ace from senior Jacob Van Mierlo.

The Cobras could not gain any momentum after that.

"We had a really good warmup and came out really fired up," Cactus coach Ryan Enos said. "Once we got behind, it seemed like we gave up on our fundamentals."

Van Mielo is the Cougars' stabilizing force, Thistle said, and the top overall player. He finished the night with nine kills.

Junior DeAndre Wade was the other half of the visitors' 1-2 punch with a match-high 12 kills and three blocks. Thistle said Wade's athleticism has always stood out, and in the last two years he has invested time in learning the nuances of volleyball.

"Last year, Jacob came into his own at the end of the season as we went on a winning streak," Thistle said. "(DeAndre) is starting to get more comfortable. What's great about it is he loves volleyball."

As Thistle alluded to, the Cougars finished 11-2 in regular season games after spring break in 2017. They earned the #14 seed but lost their 5A play-in game at home to district rival Ironwood by a 3-2 score.

Thistle is hoping the more experienced 2018 squad can make the same run.

Cactus did not reach the postseason but still has hopes for a playoff push this season. Big region games with Deer Valley, Ironwood and Prescott remain.

"For a bunch of guys with a little volleyball background, they trust each other and trust each other to do their jobs," Enos said. "We talk to kids about responding properly to wins and losses. Our number one goal is always to do better than last year."