Daniel Duque is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Betty Fairfax High School  for AZPreps365.com.

PHOENIX -- Following a difficult 0-3 road loss to the Alhambra Lions on Tuesday, the Betty Fairfax girls volleyball team returned home Thursday night to face the Metro Tech High School Knights for the second time in the season.

Despite winning an intense first set , 27-25, the Stampede (2-6, 4-8) could not keep their momentum and lost the remaining three sets, 15-25, 25-27 and 16-25, giving the Knights (5-2, 6-5) their fourth win in a row.

“You are going to have struggles and you got to fight through those struggles as we lost our first set,” Metro Tech coach Bryan Heckler said. “We made adjustments to main changes and continued to grow as a group.”

The first set was back and forth between the two teams. Although the Stampede had an 18-14 lead, a series of errors, two aces and a kill by junior outside hitter Wendy Hernandez Ramirez helped the Knights lead a brief comeback and put the score 18-21. However, a rally resulting in a kill by senior middle blocker Vanessa Chacon, two by senior middle hitter Brooklyn Scott and another by senior outside hitter Alexis Rosas helped the Stampede secure a narrow 27-25 victory.

The second set was dominated by the Knights, who took advantage of the Stampede’s miscommunication. While the first half of the set was highlighted by an intense 10-10 score, multiple errors by Betty Fairfax and the attacking pressure by Hernandez Ramirez sealed a solid 25-15 win for the Knights.

Due to another obligation, Betty Fairfax coach Iman Isom left prior to the start of the third set, leaving junior varsity coach Katie Gutierrez in charge of the Stampede for the remainder of the game. 

The third set was similar to the first, with both teams scoring continuously while keeping a narrow scoring difference. Assisted by senior setter Bella Salas, Scott and Rosas, Betty Fairfax was able to keep up with Metro Tech’s quick game led by Hernandez Ramirez and junior libero Dulce Rojas Pulido.

Down 23-21, the Knights equalized through senior middle hitter Amy Valenzuela Arvallo and took a 24-23 lead through two errors and a kill by senior right-side hitter Jennifer Acosta Chamale. Salas equalized for Betty Fairfax, but two subsequent errors gave the Knights a tight 27-25 victory.

The last set started with a double block by Valenzuela Arvallo and an ace and a kill by junior setter Lilly Castillo. Betty Fairfax pressured through Scott and Rosas, leaving the score 10-11, but in the end, Metro Tech’s momentum, led  by Hernandez Ramirez, Castillo and Acosta Chamale combined with the Stampede’s errors, secured a 25-16 win for the Knights.

“I think we just got really tired,” Rosas said. “We stopped communicating with each other, we stopped talking about what the other side was doing and I think that really hurt us, because when we don’t communicate, we don’t really know what is going on on the court.” 

Aside from his team’s victory, Heckler praised Hernandez Ramirez’ performance and leadership during the game.

“Wendy has been really outstanding all season,” Heckler said. “She has been playing varsity the last two years for us. She was moving her feet and making adjustments. She is one of our captains and she did a great job.”

.Sophomore libero Mia Villa, who was making her first varsity appearance for Betty Fairfax, expressed gratitude for her new opportunity.

“I felt like this was a great opportunity to see how varsity played, how I can get the groove of things, even for next year, and how I can continue growing,” Villa said. 

Gutierrez said that taking over the varsity team mid-way through a game can be difficult as she is not the head coach and is not used to their playing style or each player’s individual strengths and weaknesses.

“It was kind of hard for me to make substitutions or know how this person is struggling here, but this person can pick it up because I haven’t been with them,” Gutierrez said. “That is something that really does impact the players because they don’t have somebody that knows them and can utilize them as a coach.”

Gutierrez said that communication between players is an important factor that was a major struggle during the match.

“Communication is always something that is taught off the court, especially because the girls need to get to know each other,” Gutierrez said. “They need to be able to trust each other more than anything, and at some point, sometimes I feel that they don’t trust each other or they are just confused at what their coverage is.”

Betty Fairfax will visit Carl Hayden High School to take on the Camelback Spartans (1-3, 1-7) during the invitational PXU Volleyball Tournament on Saturday at 9 a.m.

Metro Tech will host the McClintock Chargers (6-0, 8-2) on Friday at 6 p.m.