The last thing Red Mountain's volleyball team needed was a rare Monday match. Coach Cody Sunderhaus's team played a road match last Thursday at San Luis (a three-hour plus, 183-mile sojourn one-way) followed by a slew of matches Friday and Saturday at Westwood's Tournament of Champions.

Still, the Lady Lions had enough left in their tank to defeat visiting Cesar Chavez in three sets at the Lions Den. Scores were 25-17, 25-16 and 25-20. Cesar Chavez wasn't fresh either. The Champions competed in the White Tanks Tourney hosted by Valley Vista last Friday and Saturday so Monday could have been a respite or perhaps light practice.

With the victory Red Mountain improved its power-ranking match record to 4-1. Chavez is 2-4 having lost its last four power-ranking matches in succession. 

"We were a little off early with all the matches we played the last few days," Sunderhaus said. "I felt we were a little more focused late in the match. Our play was better."

Red Mountain pulled away or rallied about the 14-to-16-point mark in the first two sets to prevail. Back-to-back kills in the first set by sophomore hitter Sereniti Johnson pushed a run from a 15-14 lead to 20-14 and ultimately an eight-point set triumph. The second set took off for Red Mountain with a 14-11 lead -- the 14th point thanks to an Ava Fedorick block. A 6-0 run finished the set.

The third set saw Red Mountain trail 18-14 then pull off an 11-2 burst. Three errors by Chavez allowed Red Mountain to tie at 20-20. Attacking and serving by Red Mountain finished the match. Kills by Payton Condon, Hailey Dairman, Madi Wagner and Johnson plus a finishing ace from Wagner concluded play.

Leading Red Mountain in kills unofficially was Johnson with 11, followed by Dairman and Olivia Seutter with nine apiece. Condon added five kills. Chavez's was paced by Vivian Jack with six kills and Elizabeth Hermosillo and Nikoyo-may-Usoro four kills each.

Red Mountain plays next on Wednesday hosting Carl Hayden. Cesar Chavez embarks on an eight-day hiatus. The Champions next play Sept. 20 at Valley Vista.