Zev Black is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Sunrise Mountain High School for AZPreps365.com

The Sunrise Mountain High School girls volleyball team swept the Willow Canyon Wildcats Monday night in Peoria 25-20, 25-15, 28-26.

After going down 10-8 in the first set, the Mustangs were able to rattle off 10 straight points, all with Air Force commit Taryn Davis serving. Despite a late 9-3 run by the Wildcats, Sunrise Mountain maintained its poise and won the set.

In the second set, the Mustangs maintained their momentum and, backed by sophomore Shelby Schoenbeck’s strong net presence, won the second set handedly.

Head coach Brandi Jans said she was impressed with how Schoenbeck played in the match.

“She just played lights out and protected that net,” Jans said. “She saved us a lot.”

Jans wasn’t the only person dazzled by Schoenbeck’s performance. Her teammate, Emily Pruitt, also had high praise for the middle blocker.

“She came out and she swung,” Pruitt said. “She got up over her passes and just killed it.”

Schoenbeck “killed it” both literally and figuratively. In the game, she had six kills to go along with two blocks.

The Mustangs were in control after the first two sets. In the third, Sunrise Mountain went on a pair of five-point runs with the first making it 13-6 and the second pushing the score to 18-7.

The Wildcats fought back, however, going on a 16-5 run. They eventually went up 24-23 but failed to secure the set point. The Mustangs would go on to win the set 28-26 and the match 3-0.

During a timeout late in the set, Jans told her team to take a step back.

“I told them just to relax and have fun,” Jans said. “Don't play like you’re going to lose the game… Move onto the next play. It doesn’t matter what happens. You always move onto the next play.”

Pruitt gives a lot of the on-court credit for the late comeback to Davis.

“Her intensity really keeps our team focused,” Pruitt said. “Once we hear her say ‘Let’s go!’ We know it’s time for us to get on our game.”

In the match, Davis had six kills. Many of those came late in the third set.

Jans also said that Monday games can be extremely difficult. Just last week, the Mustangs lost in five sets to Centennial High School in another Monday game. Sunrise Mountain had beaten them 3-0 earlier in the season.

Captain Shelby Gorospe, who had a team-high nine kills, said that they were able to play so well due to something they did the night before.

“We had a team dinner last night at one of our senior’s houses,” said Gorospe. “We all just hung out and chatted and got on the same page. It was really great.”

With the win, the Mustangs improved to 21-8 overall and 10-1 in division play.