Caleb Gottry attends Chandler Preparatory Academy and is a member of the AIA’s Student SID program.

On Monday, September 13th, the Rancho Solano Mustangs became the second team this year to win a set against the Chandler Prep Titans in regular season play. Since then, the Titans have only lost two other sets and remain #1 in 2A statewide.

On Thursday, October 21st, the Rancho Solano Mustangs looked to defeat the undefeated Titans, but fell short once again. With the home court advantage, the energy of senior night, and, as always, a skilled and versatile team, the Chandler Prep Titans swept the Mustangs in a dominating fashion. Head Coach commented on the advantages of facing a team a second time:

“When playing someone a second time, you kind of know their tendencies, so we tried to play to the tendencies of their best offensive players and to what type of offense they were running. The girls did a good job analyzing during film yesterday and coming out ready to go. It’s tough for them to play us twice and for us to play them twice, but I think we just came better prepared today.”

With senior setter Alyssa Smith serving, the Titans took a 5-0 lead in the first set. After three consecutive aces by senior Alyson Mingus, the Titans were ahead 13-5. Rancho Solano’s offense finally came to life when the Titans led 21-10. Over the next eight points, the Mustangs scored six kills and served an ace. The Titans rallied well but ultimately lost several points late in the set. The Mustangs came back to tie it up at 24-24, but Chandler Prep took the set 26-24.

The Titans led wire-to-wire in set two with strong service runs from three Titans. Smith was first again to serve and with three aces and a few assists, put the Titans ahead 10-0 to start the set. Junior Zoe Yates went on a six-point service run and senior Emily Curran went on a five-point service run, each serving an ace. Defensively, the Titans shut down the Mustangs with several blocks. Chandler Prep won the second set 25-7.

In the final set, the Rancho Solano Mustangs struggled against the hitting power of the Titan front line. Seniors Taylor Dedich and Mia Evers led the team in kills and Dedich shocked the crowd with an impressively powerful unassisted kill that went straight to the floor untouched. The Mustangs again tried to rally back at the end of the set, but with no success. Chandler Prep sealed their 12th three-set win of the season with a final score of 25-14.

The Titans now look to the postseason and will face the Sequoia Charter Stallions in the 2A Valley tournament at Horizon Honors High School on October 25th at 6:00pm.