(GILBERT, Ariz.) The Knights dropped a tough one to Northwest Christian on Thursday, falling 3-0 (18-25, 18-25, 17-25) to the visiting Crusaders. Senior Rio Taylor led the squad, garnering 15 assists on the night for Gilbert Christian, while junior Kaedra Lloyd and freshman Lillie Duitsman hit .500 and .438 in the match, respectively.
"Rio absolutely owned this game for us," Head Coach Alyssa Misuraca said. "She led us to be more positive, to communicate, and to chase failure by not being afraid to make aggressive errors. As a result, I thought she played phenomenally."
GCHS was once again led defensively by junior libero Michelle Lopez, who posted seven digs in the contest.
In the first set, the Knights competed to keep it close early and hung around, albeit from behind, until the 13-16 mark. Despite it being their first match of the year, Northwest Christian displayed court savvy, finding the gaps in the Knights' defense, primarily in the middle, to pick up points and pull away. GCHS managed a late run which saw it garner five more, but the late deficit was too much to overcome as NC took the set 25-18.
The Knights got out front 3-1 in the second with a Kaila Aston tip over the Crusaders' block, and a huge kill from sophomore Alexia Heyn, but NC responded with five-straight to take a 6-3 lead of its own. Duitsman stopped the skid with a kill, but Gilbert Christian struggled to return serves effectively and went down 13-7 before Misuraca signaled for a timeout. Lloyd came out of the break fired up, building a wall in the middle by herself to stop the Crusaders' attack, and the Duitsman and Taylor combo rattled off four big putdowns to get the home team within eight at 22-14. The Crusaders got it to game point on the next two plays, but GCHS held strong for four-straight points of its own before NC put the set away 25-18.
The opening points of set three weren't pretty for either team, as the Knights and Crusaders traded errors back and forth until junior Emma Caraveo set up a spike for freshman Sienna Cathey to tie it at 6-all. A Duitsman ace and a Lloyd roof gave GCHS its first lead of the third, but Northwest Christian was able to regain the advantage as the Knights once again struggled with serve receive and fending off the aggressive Crusaders' attack. Down 12 points (22-10), GCHS caught a break with a NC net violation. The momentum took a hard swing in favor of the Knights, with an Aston solo block and kills from both Duitsman and Taylor, and though Caraveo amassed another ace in the end, it wouldn't be enough as Gilbert Christian fell 25-17 to give Northwest Christian the victory.
"Today I think we learned how to make adjustments mid-game and that it's never too late to battle," Misuraca said. "Moving forward, we will work on communication and making our own energy. We will also work on serve receive system and hitting out of system."
With the win, Northwest Christian grabs its first win of the year and moves to 1-0. The GCHS setback puts the Knights' record at 1-2 overall.
Gilbert Christian heads on the road Friday for its first tournament of the year, the Longhorn Invitational, in Payson. The Knights have four matches scheduled for opening day, at 11:00am, 1:15pm, 3:30pm and 5:00pm. Saturday's matches are to be determined.
-GO KNIGHTS-
