Titans sweep Prospectors to move to 4-1
September 12, 2018 by Adam Noel, Arizona State University
Arcadia coach Jackie Bunker gave her bench a chance to shine Wednesday. It seized the moment.
Even without captain Grace Eubanks, who suffered a concussion Saturday and is out until at least Monday, the Titans returned home to defeat the Apache Junction Prospectors 25-9, 25-15, 22-15 in a decisive fashion. The team moved to 4-1 while Apache Junction fell to 1-5.
Substitute Maddie Mittendork filled in nicely for Eubanks, helping her team take a quick first set victory.
The Titans recorded eight aces and used a 14-1 run to fully put the set out of reach.
Bunker subbed out nearly all her starters, opting to go with bench players for the rest of the match.
Among those was sophomore Lauren Sayre, who started the second set at middle hitter, a shift from her standard position of right side hitter.
“I thought our energy was really good and we played well as a team,” Sayre said. “I had a lot of fun. It just took me some getting used to playing on the inside.”
Sayre and Hannah Walker used the extra playing time to show off their skills.
Sayre added three sets and a kill while Walker recorded consecutive aces to get the Titans off to a 14-10 lead in the second set.
Bunker used to matchup to inspire her players.
“We always are playing at a certain level and we need to stay focused," Bunker told her team in the huddle after the second set. "We need to use this as a chance to get better,”
By the third set, the crowd of nearly 20 students was on its feet cheering for the Titans.
Diane Theis had consecutive blocks to set the tone in the back-and-forth third set.
“It was a slow game," junior Zora Carrier said. "But that gave us a chance to think more about our skills and mechanics and less on getting the win,”
Carrier finished with 12 kills, one of which punctuated the win for the Titans.
Senior Haley Westhoff led in aces (14) and Walker in digs (15).
Arcadia travels to Dysart to take on the Demons this Thursday at 6 p.m.