The season opener for the second season of boys volleyball was against the Poston Butte Broncos. The Trojans had put in hard work before their first game against the Broncos. The first and second set of the match went well for the Trojans, winning set one 25-11 and winning set two 25-17. The Trojans had a hiccup in the third set, losing a narrow set by only two, with a final score of 24-26. They cleaned it up in the fourth set and took care of business, winning 25-12. Seniors Mason Henkel and Jacob Leppert and junior Jose Amancio-Ramos were dominating the net. Mason Henkel had 6 kills with an average .545 kill percentage and 3 total blocks for the match. Jacob Leppert had the most kills this match with 10 on .500 kill percentage, and Jose Amancio-Ramos had 7 kills on .538 kill percentage. Sophomore Austin Moskop had a decent game as well, serving 1.7 aces per set. Defensively, Jacob Leppert and freshman Lincoln Powell were successful in digging and serve receiving. Lincoln had 9 digs and 19 returns, and Jacob had 20 returns with 10 digs.
The second game of the season for the Trojans was against the Gilbert Christian Knights. It was a tight match throughout, but in the first set the Trojans won 25-18. The second set was closer, but the Trojans still won 25-23. The Knights would connect with each other on the third set and take it from the Trojans, 25-22, making it 2-1, Trojans still leading. The fourth set was close as well, and the Trojans would win 25-22, winning the match 3-1. Some standout players from this game were Jacob Leppert with 9 kills. Austin Moskop had 7 blocks and Mason Henkel accompanied him in blocks with 5 total blocks. Juniors Will Groen and Kaden Haase did well to set up the kills with both of them separately having 16 assists.
Mason Henkel shared about their opening games saying, "During our first games we felt a large amount of confidence. We have chemistry but we need to tweak a couple things out to get us ready for the next game and the game after that and so on."
The third game of the season for the Trojans was against the Agua Fria Owls. The Owls made a deep playoff run last year, so going into this game would be a challenge for the Trojans. It ended up being a tough game with the Trojans getting swept 0-3. Mason Henkel had a good game with 8 kills, and Kaden Haase with 11 assists. The Trojans could not survive through the sets this game.
The Trojans then faced off against more tough competition in the fourth game, the Eastmark Firebirds. Valley took the first set narrowly 25-23, and seemed like the Trojans could scrape by each set. Although, the Firebirds came back and answered harshly, winning the second set 25-10, making the match 1-1. The Firebirds took care of Valley in the last two sets. The match ended up in favor of the Firebirds, 3-1. Sophomore Micah Morton had an impressive 9 kills. Kaden Haase, star setter, had 25 assists, taking care of his teammates well.
Will Groen shared about this year's team and the chemistry that has been building. "From the beginning, our team has got along really well, but after the dominant win against Gilbert Christian, our team started to click and play together."
The Trojans went 2-2 in the first 4 games, and they will continue to have a steady, thrilling season ahead.
