The lights were turned off just before the start of the match.

Once on, they revealed a team that’s as complete as any in the state. They also played like it while sweeping an Arizona volleyball power, Sunnyslope, 25-20, 25-15, 25-23.

Sandra Day O’Connor starts superstars, Devyn Wiest and Piper Rama. A legit pin hitter who emerged as a threat as a senior, Katie Lambeth, also dons the white and blue of the Eagles.

Their setters, Shannon Sheehy and Addison France, are tall, strong and steady. And they have a coaching staff, led by Amanda Burbridge, that’s as motivated as ever to finally bring home an indoor title to O’Connor.

Sandra Day O'Connor coach Amanda Burbridge (in white) and her staff applauded their team's efforts while winning a region title. (Jose Garcia/azpreps365) 

One of the teams that stands in its way, Sunnyslope, the only Arizona team to defeat O’Connor during the regular season, visited O’Connor Monday.

But unlike O’Connor, Sunnyslope wasn’t complete, as block leader Kendall Omoruyi was ill. But stopping the home team, even with a full squad, was a tall order on this meaningful day.

A region title and probably the No. 1 seed in the 6A Conference were on the line. Plus, the Eagles weren’t about to let the Vikings spoil Senior Night.

Lambeth, Iana Loera, Rama, Myah Sharfner, Shannon Sheehy, and Kinsley Singleton are the seniors who won their final regular season home match. The kind hosts also acknowledged Sunnsylope’s seniors before the match.

The O'Connor Eagles handed flowers and hugs to Sunnyslope's seniors just before their match. (Jose Garcia/azpreps365) 

The first set was tied 12-12, when Sunnyslope’s passing errors and the hitting and setting of France ignited a five point lead for O’Connor. A left-handed spike by the setter led to a Sunnyslope timeout, trailing 17-12.

Sunnyslope’s blocking helped it cut the lead to 21-19, but that’s as close as the Vikings got the rest of the way. O’Connor was in full control in the second game.

“I just feel like our ball control wasn’t very good,” Sunnyslope coach Amber Le Tarte said. “So it’s great to have those hustle plays (we made), but it’s hard when every play has to be a hustle play instead of having some good ball control.”

The competitive third set was tied 21-21 after Sunnyslope freshman outside hitter Hayes Haan found the back line and O’Connor’s Kaiya Kearney’s block on a right side hitter.

Sunnyslope's Josie Portela celebrates after a block. (Jose Garcia/azpreps365) 

Two kills by Zoe Haan left Sunnyslope (22-8) two points away from winning the final game. But O’Connor (29-1) scored the last two points, which ended with Wiest's 18th kill of the night.  

“We are doing a lot of work to prepare for the postseason,” Burbridge said. “We are trying to get a little bit better every day and learn something every day. And we are just continuing to work on our tools to help us stay calm through competition and through some of the pressure that we see. So that when we get into these tight matches we are able to pull them out.”

O'Connor's bench loved what they saw from their teammates during the match. (Jose Garcia/azpreps365)

O'Connor football coach Brian Cole (in black hat) and some his players led the celebration chants from the stands during the match. (Jose Garcia/azpreps365)