The Cicero Prep Centurions kept their promise and made another one for next year.

But Great Hearts Anthem Prep tried its best Saturday to throw a wrench into Cicero’s plans.

The top-seeded Centurions three-peated as 1A volleyball champs after defeating upset minded Great Hearts Anthem 25-13, 25-17, 23-25, 25-18 at Desert Mountain High School. In 2021, when head coach Kirsten Frey and assistant Brian Kirk took over a program that won just three matches the previous season, the duo unfurled their plans to build a champion. 

It took them just two seasons to accomplish the feat. A second and third ring follwed, and, with the graduation of just one player this school year, a fourth ring is the next objective.

“Oh, absolutely,” said Frey about if Cicero can four-peat. "I have no doubt in my mind.”

Said Cicero's outside hitter Nicole Damian, the 2025 championship match MVP, after Saturday’s match, "We are planning on it (four-peating.)” 

After winning last year’s championship, Frey promised that her program would defend its 2024 title.

The Centurions, it seemed, were well on their way to backing their coach’s prediction and sweeping Saturday's match after leading 25-13, 25-17, 19-10. But sixth-seeded Great Hearts Anthem said not so fast. 

Coming off an emotional five set upset of No. 2 seed North Phoenix Prep on Friday, it was the first time in four tries that Great Hearts Anthem defeated North Phoenix Prep this season. The fight the Anthem program showed in the semis finally reappeared while trailing by nine points in the third game of the final.

Great Hearts Anthem's libero Lily Terpstra sparked a rally that had their fans roaring by the end of the game. The libero's dig on a very hard hit spike attempt led to a point.

That momentum switching point was followed by a Ava Vallery kill, and the rally was on, as Great Hearts Anthem outscored Cicero 15-4 to end Game 4. Vallery endured numerous back surgeries, including one early this year, because she has scoliosis. 

But, like her team, Vallery always seemed to bounce back. The tall senior middle had another kill to put her team up 24-23 before a Cicero error ended the fourth game.    

Great Hearts Anthem's resiliency and execution and seven third game Cicero passing or hitting errors helped extend the match. 

“These girls have a lot of grit,” first-year Great Hearts Anthem head coach Janet Greene said about her squad. "They just have to tap into it. Sometimes it’s just about getting through the phase of reading what (the opponent) is doing and not just reacting, and then they step into their own flow and game. This whole week has been about them stepping into their own game and tempo and we surprised a lot of people. So that makes me so proud of them.” 

Great Hearts Anthem hade plenty to celebrate after the program's first state title appearance Saturday. (Jose Garcia photo/AZPreps365)Saturday marked Great Hearts Anthem's (22-7) first final volleyball appearance. 

“To see that (Great Hearts’ Game 3 victory) happen here, and to see the new coach at Anthem step into this role, I think she’s done some incredible things with the team,” Frey said. "I see a very similar mindset in her that Brian and I stepped into this position with.”

In the fourth game, Great Hearts Anthem led 13-1 as each team kept siding out in the first part of the set. 

Damian, outside hitter Claire Hodgson and middle Kate Harrigan—juniors who played instrumental roles in Cicero’s rise to prominence—led again as Cicero regained a lead it didn’t relinquish. Aces by Hodgson (7 kills) and Damian and a Harrigan kill in the middle helped their team jump ahead 17-14, leading to a timeout by their opponent. 

But that didn’t phase Harrigan, who immediately responded with one of her six Game 4 kills right after the timeout. Harrigan finished with 13 kills, and teammate opposite Penelope Burman tallied eight kills.  

But Great Hearts Anthem kept fighting, getting to within two points (20-18) after a block by middle blocker Grace Stillwell. The tree-time defending champ then decided enough was enough and closed the match with a 5-0 run, capped by a perfect pass from Hodgson to setter Layla Hrabe, whose back set was whipped to the back row by Damian. Besides her unofficial 18 kills, Damian’s wicked left-handed serve was difficult to track as well, tallying 12 of her team’s 19 aces. 

The 5-11 opposite served five of those aces consecutively at the start of Game 2. 

"I’ve always had faith in my team and know that we can and will produce,” Damian said. "There’s a saying on our team that we are known for: win in four (games). But we have been trying to break out of that habit. I guess we like to keep the crowd on their feet.”

Nicole Damian received MVP honors from Dr. Jim Dean, the Arizona Interscholastic Association's Executive Director, after Saturday's dominant performance. (Jose Garcia photo/AZPreps365)The victory sent Ella Palamo, the lone senior for Cicero, out as a champ in her final high school match. 

Cicero, which is also under the Great Hearts Academies umbrella, finished with a 29-9 record and without dropping a match to a 1A program. 

If Cicero becomes the first 1A program to four-peat since Joseph City (1999-2002), it’ll do so without Frey, a sports psychology doctoral student. An out of state internship will keep her from remaining at the school, but she won’t soon be forgotten for helping build a dynasty. 

“No matter who ever steps into this role, which I hope to be a part of finding that person, these girls know what they are after,” Frey said. “They are the spirit and the soul of Cicero and will absolutely want (the 2026 title) just as bad as the (2025) group, especially with so many being seniors (9) next time around. I have no doubt in my mind you’ll see them again next year.”