Aurora Castaneda is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Arcadia High School for AZPreps365.com

Arcadia, a 4A Desert team coached by Adrian Chang, earned its first region win of the season Tuesday night, overcoming ALA Queen Creek in a five-set thriller to improve to 3-3 overall and 1-1 in region play. 

The Titans, who entered the match sixth in the 4A Desert Sky standings, rallied past the Patriots — a 4A East Sky team coached by Jodi Proctor and currently first in their region (4-2 overall, 1-0 region)— with set scores of 26-24, 22-25, 14-25, 25-21, and 15-9.

This comeback win gives Arcadia a crucial confidence boost heading into next weekend’s Nike Tournament of Champions in Phoenix, especially after their loss earlier in the week to undefeated Cactus Shadows. 

After taking a tense first set 26-24, Arcadia dropped the next two sets 22-25 and 14-25, giving the Patriots a 2-1 lead by the third set. But the Titans bounced back in the fourth set, winning 25-21, and carried their momentum into the fifth set, securing the match 15-9. 

“Tonight’s match, along with a couple of tough five-set matches this week, is helping the players really mesh and find their roles,” Chang said. “We’re looking forward to the Nike Tournament next weekend, which gives us a chance to play against some unknown talent and see how we stack up. With so many young, talented athletes, we’re still tweaking things to see who works best together.”

The fourth set proved to be the turning point. With the score tight and tension high, Arcadia’s captains, Riley Rooney and Trinity Thompson, led the Titans’ comeback. The Patriots’ coach, Jodi Procter, showed visible frustration as her team struggled to maintain their earlier dominance. 

“We started off a little slow in the first two sets, but we came back and really fought tougher as a team,” Rooney said. “Every time we play, we get better together. This team is new, and we haven’t played much, but we fought really hard to the end.

"I’m excited for the Nike Tournament—we worked hard in our last tournament and played together the whole time, so I’m looking forward to seeing how we perform.”

Thompson emphasized perseverance and teamwork, echoing her teammates' thoughts. 

“It’s hard to bounce back, especially after our loss on Monday, since we lost in five,” Thompson said. “But we finally came together in the last set we won, and the middle was rough for a second. This team meshes so well, and we’re always there for each other. Even if it’s not my best game personally, it’s fun being out there for everyone. We just need to stay fired up together and keep our serve game strong under pressure.”

Arcadia’s offense was powered by junior Riley Rooney, who leads the Titans with 47 kills, 53 digs, and 11 blocks across 20 sets this season, hitting .114 and adding key service aces.

Across the net ALA Queen Creek outside hitter Sara Bowcutt has been dominating this year with 147 kills, 103 digs, 16 aces, and a .302 hitting percentage in 36 sets—and she lived up to that reputation Wednesday, keeping the Patriots competitive with a series of hard-driven kills, forcing Arcadia’s defense to stay on their toes. Both players were key in keeping the match tightly contested through all five sets. 

With this victory, Arcadia improved to 3-3 overall and 1-1 in region play, while ALA QC dropped to 4-2 overall and remained 1-0 in region play. The Titans look forward to carrying this momentum into the Nike Tournament of Champions next weekend, while the Patriots regroup for their Epic Tourneys Girls Volleyball Invite.