Michael Burgess II is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover high school sports for AZPreps365.com

PHOENIX--Brophy's boys volleyball team extended their winning streak to six, sweeping Liberty 25-8, 25-13, 25-14 on Wednesday night.

The Broncos scored 11 of the match's first 12 points en route to their sixth-consecutive sweep on the season. The offense was clicking on all cylinders, with the Broncos embarking on multiple scoring runs to put the game away.

“We don’t really worry about our offense necessarily,” Brophy head coach Tony Oldani said. “We’ve got guys around who can put the ball away. Scoring in transition has been good for us all season.”

One of those guys who can put the ball away is senior Andrew Werner. The 6’4" outside hitter had two aces and a game-high nine kills to help Brophy win its seventh match of the season.

“I was feeling good coming into tonight,” Werner said. “We had a match last night that went really well, and that got everyone really hyped up. We were able to build on that momentum coming into tonight, and I think it really showed.”

Sophomore outside hitter Caden Thompson (22) tosses a serve during Brophy's 3-0 sweep of Liberty. Thompson contributed two aces and seven kills in the win.

Coming off a four-game winning streak, Liberty has lost each of its last two games. With a team featuring several first-time varsity members, head coach Richard Ebersole is hoping games against top teams like Brophy will lead to more success down the line.

“This year, we’re focusing on playing fast and aggressive,” Ebersole said. “We have a lot of new players on varsity, and we’re trying to get their confidence level up. Playing games like this against a team that’s experienced and fast can be helpful. But obviously, we just have to keep working.”

Sophomore outside hitter Ryan Repak had an ace and three kills in the match, while junior opposite hitter Blake Casey contributed a team-high five kills for the Lions.

This game also allowed Liberty the opportunity to tinker with lineup changes. The Lions went deep into their bench, toying with different player combinations. They also experimented with a new two-setter formation in an attempt to ensure better passing and fluidity on offense.

“This game gave us a chance to look at some of the players off the bench,” Ebersole said. “We made some changes to our setting and started running a different rotation with two setters instead of one. I think, at this point, in order to get more consistent sets, we might look at running a two-setter system moving forward.”

The Brophy defense put forth a strong effort throughout the match, preventing Liberty from building any momentum to mount a comeback.

“Our defense has stepped up,” Oldani said. “Especially with (senior outside hitter) Ben McDonald and (junior opposite hitter) Teddy Churchill. At the beginning of the season, they were our arms to get points, but their defense has picked up. Hopefully, we can carry that into Mesa, who is a good defensive team.”

While Brophy had a dominant performance, they were not perfect. The Broncos committed seven attacking errors and 12 service errors, issues that Oldani wants to see ironed out before they start playing tougher competition. 

“That’s kind of been our trend,” Oldani said. “We’ll serve well in the first, and then once we kind of think we’ve got the match, we start to coast. That’s what we’ve been fighting with the last couple of matches. Tomorrow, we have a bigger test in Mesa, so hopefully, we’re up for that.”

This win improves Brophy’s overall record to 7-2 on the season. The Broncos go on the road Thursday night to face the Mesa Jackrabbits in Brophy's final match before their return to region play. For Liberty, the loss drops the Lions to 4-3 on the year. They have another road game against the Skyline Coyotes on Thursday night in an attempt to end their two-game skid.