Harrison Meyers is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Coronado Dons for AZPreps365.com

Coronado (0-10) lost their sixth home game this season when they hosted Vista Grande on Tuesday. The Dons have yet to win a set this season thus far, and fell to the Spartans in three sets.

Vista Grande senior outside hitter and captain Maria Toledo led the team with 14 kills, and its junior OH Chelzie Down finished with nine. 

The Dons offense could find its rhythm in the first set as they managed to score just five points. Defensively, they were not much better as Vista Grande dominated the court, led 20-2 at one point and ended the set on a 20 point margin. 

After a rough first set, the Dons put up a much better effort in the second, which ended in a final score of 25-17. Their sophomore Haley Hereau praised the team’s effort the second time around.

“We picked up the energy, picked up the communication and we all played a lot better.” Hereau said, and wants to see improvement “on our services and our defense.”

The Dons lost a close one in the third and final match as they scored 16 points. Senior outside hitter Cyalista Cotton was one of Coronado's standouts who  had a team-high four kills. After Coronado went up 7-5, the Spartans went on a 20-9 run and wrapped up the sweep, 25-16.

First year head coach Alex Smothers said she believed that if “we focus on being five percent better, there’s six people on the court, that’s 30 percent better.” Although this season has not been ideal, Smothers really enjoys the team's energy and feels they feed off it when on the court. Keeping the team motivated is something he sees as “not that difficult” because of their dedication to the sport and the camaraderie. 

Coronado freshman right side hitter Tracey Rodriguez is still adjusting to the varsity level. In a season that has been tough to play through, she also described the team as very open and has “helped me get a lot better over the season.”

Rodriguez also stressed that her team's on-court communication was lacking, but believed the team “overall played pretty good.”

When asked for any specific goals for the season before it ends, both Smothers and Hereau responded with a simple, “Win!”

Coronado returns Thursday at 6 p.m. to play another home game, facing the Dysart Demons (4-5 overall) in 4A Black Canyon region play.