Camp Verde’s volleyball team didn’t exactly make things easy for themselves during its home game against Chino Valley on Thursday, Oct. 15. But in the end, the Cowboys got the result that they were looking for.
Camp Verde started strong, winning the first two sets decisively. The visiting Cougars fought back from there, though, posting a come-from-behind victory in the third set. The Cowboys bounced back immediately from there, riding a strong start to a fourth set to give them a 3-1 victory with games scoring 25-17, 25-9, 24-26 and 25-19. This is the team’s first of the season.
“We worked more as a team this game than anything,” Camp Verde senior Lily Anne Smejkal said. “We just haven’t had the energy until tonight. It was just a great game. Everyone played to the best of their ability. I really enjoyed it.”
Two critical moments occurred in the fourth set. The first came in the beginning, with the Cowboys trying to shake off a disappointing third set, which they lost despite leading throughout and even holding a comfortable 16-11 lead in the later portion.
Camp Verde began the fourth set serving, with sophomore Reagan Warren taking the honors. Her serve was eventually broken but not until the Cowboys had jumped out to a 6-0 lead. That gave them a decisive win in one of the mini-battles that Camp Verde coach Britney Armstrong said was “huge.”
“That’s one thing that we always strive for is being the first team to five,” Armstrong said. “Not only are you getting a five-point advantage but you’re setting the tone immediately and kind of getting in the opponent’s head. And then you’re building your confidence up. We always try for first to five. Even if we get into a set when we’re tied 10-10, we always, say ‘first to five.’”
The second key moment of the set and match came in the middle of the set. The Cowboys built on their early lead, going up 13-5. From there, the Cougars began to come back, scoring six of the next seven points to close the gap to 14-11. Camp Verde mirrored that with a six of seven point run of their own to open up a 20-12 lead. That gave the Cowboys the cushion needed to withstand one final Chino Valley push and close out the match.
In between the two teams’ 6-1 runs there was a time out. During that, the normally mild mannered Armstrong loudly told the players to “get it together.” That message resonated with her players.
“That’s the maddest I’ve ever seen her — but we needed it,” senior Ashlee Bueler said afterward. “She knows when to discipline us and when not to. She really helped us.”
“They were having a hard time getting their fire back so I had to try to put it back in there for them,” Armstrong added. “It was just like, ‘Come on, ladies.’ And we know that’s one of our weaknesses. When we start to get down we kind of turn off. They needed it. Some tough love.”
A number of key performances helped spark the Cowboys to victory. Smejkal was a force up front throughout, accumulating nine kills and three blocks, leading Camp Verde in both categories. Senior Paige Seneca was strong in the service game, recording five aces. Warren led the way with 15 assists while fellow sophomore Jaydyn Rayburn paced the Cowboys with 19 digs.
The win moved Camp Verde to 1-7 on the season and also avenged a 3-1 loss to Chino Valley from earlier this fall.
The Cowboys will be in action again on Thursday, Oct. 22, with a double-header at Fountain Hills with games at 4:30 and 7 p.m. Camp Verde’s next home game will be on Tuesday, Oct. 27, at 6 p.m. against Northwest Christian.
