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

CHANDLER -- Gilbert Christian returned from fall break Wednesday night with a dominant performance, sweeping Bourgade Catholic in a 3A Metro conference match, 25-6, 25-7, 25-9.

Bouncing back after a tough loss to Scottsdale Christian before the break, junior hitters Lillie Duitsman and Sienna Cathey led the offensive charge for the Knights.

“The break was a nice little reset for everyone,” Knights coach Andrew Rasmussen said. “September is a lot. It’s just good for everyone to come back and be excited to be back in the gym.”

The Knights jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the first set, causing the Golden Eagles to take a timeout early and regather their team. Ultimately, the Knights pulled ahead with four kills from Duitsman and five from Cathey, ending the set 25-6.

“We just want to play the way that we know we can,” Rasmussen said. “Everyone's competing, everyone celebrating, everyone's connected. The girls do a good job.”

The Golden Eagles fought to curb the Knight’s offensive attacks in the second set, but the depth of the Knights' roster made it hard to respond defensively.

“We made an adjustment on the court by making the girls have fun,” Golden Eagles coach Jesse Santos said. “We know what this team is about. We don't have the height, but we made the adjustment by trying to cover different areas of the floor and making sure if they go one way, we're fixing it and picking it up the other way.”

Duitsman added four more kills and three aces while sophomore hitter Liv Johnson chipped in with three kills to help secure the second set, 25-7.

“I'm looking to work on kills and defense, but most of all to finish strong this season,” Johnson said.

Senior middle blocker Lily Midthun said the Knights were also working through different strategies as the season nears its end.

“Our strategy was to do a lot of free ball plays today and while trying new options to prepare for tomorrow and the rest of the season,” Midthun said.

The Golden Eagles came into the third set determined to challenge the Knights. Bourgade Catholic walked away with two blocks, one ace, and three kills in the final set. Early on, they saw their first lead of the night, 5-4,  thanks to a pair of blocks from sophomore hitter Monica Aldecoa.
While the Knights found themselves in a tango with the Golden Eagles, the competition was cut short by an offensive performance from Johnson, junior hitter Skylar Dedich and sophomore middle blocker Ashlyn Kirby who closed out the set, 25-9. 

Collectively, Johnson walked away with five kills, Dedich with three kills, and Kirby with four aces to complete the match.

“I think, at the end, we kind of had to take a deep breath and reset,"  Johnson said. "Our goal was to stay focused, and we lost it for a little bit but then we regained it."

Gilbert Christian (19-4, 5-1) will play at Northwest Christian (17-3,10-1) on Thursday at 6 p.m., while Bourgade Catholic (2-9, 2-6) will play at Payson (23-4, 11-2) on Thursday at 6:30 p.m.