Kamaron Holloway is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication student assigned to cover Scottsdale Christian Academy for AZPreps365.com

SCOTTSDALE -- With an 18-kill performance, junior outside hitter Kaya Olafson rose to the occasion as she willed her team to a gritty five-set victory over ALA-West Foothills, stamping herself as a dominant force at the net.

The intense game was a battle until the end, ultimately leading to the Eagles' 12th straight win of the season, beating the Guardians, 25–18, 25–18, 17–25, 19-25, 15-9 on Wednesday night.

“None of us coaches love going to five sets, but the thing we told the girls is it makes us a better team,” Scottsdale Christian coach Julie Dickerson said.

“Down the stretch in the playoffs, this can really help us. Volleyball is such a game of momentum that if you let a team, they will take it and run. The fact that we dug deep and stopped the run shows we can handle pressure, and you can't learn unless you're in it. In the end, it is totally worth it.”

The game seemed to be well in hand as the Eagles took the first two sets, looking for yet another sweep. However, the Guardians fought back in the third and fourth sets to make it a game.

West Foothills powered its comeback by completely taking the momentum on the tails of a 6-0 run followed by a 5-0 run in the third set. The most impressive run from the Guardians came in the fourth set of the game as they went on an 8-0 run followed by a 5-0 run.

These came as a courtesy from the strong performances by senior outside hitter Avery Williams, who led her team with 11 kills, along with her teammates, sophomore and junior middle hitters Aileen Nimijan and Delaine Joncas, both of whom had seven kills.

“Our outside hitter Avery was on fire tonight,” Guardians coach Kendra Ritter said.“The entire team was going at it and going after the ball. Our goal was always to swing and not give free balls, always putting the other team on its heels. I think we did a great job of that tonight.”

As the game came down to the wire, a trio of Eagles shone in the fifth set, led by senior outside hitter Selah Wadsworth, who finished the game with 11 kills.

Sophomore outside hitter Sophie Weller, who had 10 kills and a key block in the fifth set, combined with Olafson, who added six blocks to her 18 kills, to lead the team to victory.

Not only was this a staple win for the Eagles, beating a team that bested them just last season in the same scenario of a five-set game, but it also put Olafson just nine kills shy of 1,000 career kills.

“I was trying to prepare the whole day since this has been a goal of mine,” Olafson said. “It’s really cool because not many juniors get this opportunity, so I just want to make every moment count as I build towards the future.”

“Kaya is a special volleyball player,” Dickerson said. “Not only is she dominant on the net, but she also plays phenomenal defense. She's in there six rotations, five sets, which is hard to do; she is just an athlete.Kaya is a leader on this team. She was a co-captain as a sophomore and again this year as a junior. We love her and couldn’t do what we do without her.”

Despite the loss, Ritter was proud of her team and looks forward to the rest of the season.

“Honestly, I couldn’t be prouder. That energy is what we’ve been working on,” Ritter said. “We came across a great team tonight, and we fought back, almost pulling off the reverse sweep. This teaches them that anything is possible, and that energy can actually take over skill.”

Scottsdale Christian (18–3, 1-0) will host Campolindo (Morgaga, California) (9-3, 4-0) in a tournament on Friday at 11 a.m.

ALA-West Foothills (4-6, 2-0) will host Highland Prep (3-3, 2-2) on Monday at 6 p.m.