Amanda Roche is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Chandler Prep for AZPreps365.com.

QUEEN CREEK -- Gilbert Christian brought home Tuesday night’s match against Benjamin Franklin in another quick three-set sweep with the help of junior hitter Lillie Duitsman’s nine service aces.

The Knights are on a seven-game winning streak, all in three-set sweeps. Tuesday night was no exception as they defeated the Chargers in a short match, 25-15, 25-13, 25-15.

“The girls are playing great and taking care of business,” Knights coach Andrew Rasmussen said. "You see a ton of maturity present every night with this great community of girls.”

The Knights opened the first set with a 6-0 run, led by two kills from junior hitter Sienna Cathy and a service ace from Duitsman. Chargers coach Darlene Kolberg called two timeouts during the set to regroup her team.

“I don’t love to take timeouts, but when you’re down by eight or nine points, sometimes it’s just a mental reset,” Kolberg said. “You have to stop it at some point and try to slow down the momentum.”

“We need to use whatever we can when the other team is miscommunicating,” Knights senior setter Sidney Loth said. “We have to lean on each other even more to overpower the noise, and the more that we talk—regardless of the other side—the more we are successful.”

In the second set, the Knights went on a 13-point run against the Chargers, highlighted by four service aces from Duitsman, four kills from Cathy, and an efficient setter dump from senior hitter Alexia Heyn to cap the run.

“It’s an adrenaline high,” Duitsman said. “I think it comes down to really sticking together as a team and focusing on our energy, while being as aggressive as we can with the ball and putting it away.”

The Knights posted a strong offensive performance in the second set, tallying 12 kills and six aces as a team. Senior middle blocker Lily Midthun contributed four rally-ending blocks to build momentum.

“Volleyball is a game of runs, and the unique thing is that every set starts back 0-0,” Rasmussen said. “That in and of itself is a mental exercise, and the girls do a great job of overcoming that.”

Cathy finished with 12 kills on the night and currently leads the 3A Metro Conference with 183 kills this season.

“I definitely find it comes quite naturally to me,” Cathy said. “It's not something I tend to focus on, but it's something I have worked on in the past. I built this skill up at a young age.”

The Chargers put up a fight in the third set, posting six kills and three aces, but the match ended with a pair of kills from Duitsman and Loth.

Gilbert Christian (17-1, 4-0) will host Northwest Christian (15-5, 2-0) on Thursday at 6 p.m., while Benjamin Franklin (4-9, 2-4) will host San Tan Foothills (4-6, 0-2) on Thursday at 6 p.m.