Henry Buchan is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Camelback High School for AZpreps365.com

In a battle of 6A regional rivals, Camelback pushed South Mountain to a close finish in the first and second sets, but were unable to match the Jaguars’ late-set execution during a straight-set loss at South Mountain Thursday night. The final set scores were 25-18, 25-21, 25-12.

Camelback coach Corey Calugcugan-Simms said this was the best his team has played all season.

“It’s been a challenging year for us,” Calugcugan-Simms said. “Everyone has been playing new positions almost weekly because we’ve had a lot of injuries.

"Learning to play as a team has been a real challenge, but today was the best we’ve played. Especially against a team like South Mountain, which is the best in our region by far. It was great to see.”

The teams battled back and forth in the first set, with the score sitting at 12-12 midway through. Two aces from senior Dezzarae Medina, who led the Spartans with five, and a kill from junior Dailene Perez gave Camelback a 15-12 advantage, forcing a South Mountain timeout.

South Mountain responded strongly, winning 13 of 16 points to take the set,  25-18. The Jaguars were able to clinch the set on kills from senior Julia Abdelsalam and junior Trinity Thomas.

South Mountain coach Leosha Barker said her team was able to turn it around by reducing errors and finding the balance between aggressiveness and recklessness.

“To get back on track, it was just eliminating errors,” Barker said. “We had a lot of unforced errors, and I think the game would have been a lot more smooth without them. It was them just wanting to pound, pound, pound instead of playing smart. It’s good because they’re big hitters, but we’ve got to put the ball in.”

The second set was a similar story, as neither team was able to gain significant separation, but Camelback edged ahead, taking a 17-15 lead.

Late in the set, Abdelsalam had consecutive kills, and junior Devyn Scott had another on the set’s deciding point, allowing South Mountain to take the set, 25-21. 

Abdelsalam said her team’s encouragement and communication allowed her to play her best with the set on the line.

“I feel like we talked to our team and we knew what we had to do,” Abdelsalam said. “Our energy and giving each other that motivation really helped us.

"My team really had my back, telling me where to hit and finding open spots. It was really just that I was having fun and my team was having fun, so that made it easier to put the ball away.”

The third set was less close, with South Mountain getting off to an 8-1 advantage and holding a significant lead throughout. Abdelsalam had several powerful kills in the match's waning moments, finishing with 14.

Abdelsalam said her team has shown they’re hard to beat when they’re playing their best.

“We’ve come a long way playing together, and I’m happy that we’re being a team,” Abdelsalam said. “This season we’ve bonded so well, and it took us a few seconds, but we are one powerful team when we play together and communicate.”

Camelback junior Gabriela Fitta said that even in the loss she found her team’s performance encouraging.

“We did really well communicating, which was something we really struggled with during the start of the season,” Fitta said. “Especially considering that South Mountain is the best team in our region right now, I think that for us to give them that much of a battle it makes us realize that we can do this. Next time we play them, we’ll probably get even closer, maybe even win a set or the game.”

South Mountain improved to 6-6 and 3-0 in their region with the win, while Camelback fell to 1-14 and 0-3.

Camelback will play next at Maryvale on Oct. 15 at 6 p.m.

South Mountain will play next at home against Trevor Browne on Oct. 15 at 6 p.m.