The Valley Christian volleyball team has been on a tear this season. They finished undefeated in 3A (17-0) with some tournament wins under their belt. Ranked #1, the Trojans are on a roll prior to the state tournament. 

With the help of head coach Tyler Trathen's connections, the team was invited to play in the 20th Annual Southern California Volleyball Invitational on October 6-7. The tournament was two days long and featured two divisions of high level high school teams from all across the American Southwest. 

On the first day, the Trojans faced off against Foothill High School out of Nevada first, picking up the win 2 sets to 0. They followed that game with a loss to talented Torrey Pines High School from San Diego, California, 0-2. The girls were able to bounce back after that defeat with a second 2-0 sweep against Pleasant Valley from Chico, California. 

The second day, the Trojans took on the only other team from Arizona to be invited to the tournament, Highland High School. The Highland Hawks currently sit at #9 in the 6A volleyball rankings in Arizona. Valley would go on to put up a good fight, but suffer a 0-2 loss to the Hawks. In the last game of the tournament, they would face Palo Verde High School from Las Vegas, losing a close game 1-2.

Despite their 2-3 record at the Invitational, the Trojans proved that they can hang with some of the best schools in the country. Senior Avery Schmidt gave some insight on their experience at the tournament; "This tournament was a really cool opportunity to play against teams that we never played before. It helped get us prepared for state and built up our chemistry as a team. We bonded a lot on the trip and grew closer as teammates."

Catch the Trojans in their first playoff game this Saturday, November 4 at Marcos De Niza High School as they seek another state championship!