Jackson Shaw is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Paradise Valley High School for AZPreps365.com

Paradise Valley girls volleyball will travel to Surprise to face off against Willow Canyon in a match Monday evening, Oct. 2. 

The Trojans (4-10) are heading into this week on a five-game losing streak after falling to Sunrise Mountain on Sept. 27. Still looking for their first conference win, the Trojans hope to turn that streak around starting against the Wildcats. 

Paradise Valley sits in sixth place in the 5A Northwest conference, with only Apollo (2-11) behind it. Willow Canyon (8-12) is just above the Trojans with a conference record of 1-4. 

This will be the first of two scheduled matches the Trojans and the Wildcats will play this season. They faced off twice last year and Willow Canyon won both times. The first matchup came down to the final set and ended 15-9, while the second resulted in a sweep for the Wildcats 

When experiencing a tough season, many teams will get discouraged and lose motivation. But Paradise Valley head coach Jessica Spencer stays motivated and keeps her players excited about their upcoming matches.

“Mentally, we’ve been focusing on toughness,” Spencer said. “What you can control and what you can’t control on and off the court.” 

Senior Amanda Plisko is the star for Paradise Valley. She leads the team in total kills with 71 and averages a team-high two kills per set. 

Plisko is ecstatic to have the team’s main setter, senior Tatum Berrington, back in her first game since suffering a knee injury during practice earlier in the year. 

“Now that we have our main setter back, I want to be able to play stronger, actually start winning some games,” Plisko said. 

Carrying a large portion of the workload in the back row is senior Rhiannon Boesl. Averaging 4.2 digs per set this season, Boesl is all over the defensive end of the ball. The senior libero is optimistic for the second half of the season. 

“I’m honestly really hyped. I think that we played really well together, so I’m really excited and I think that we’ve worked really hard,” Boesl said. 

Willow Canyon freshman Shia Chancellor will be the next test of Boesl’s defensive capabilities. Chancellor has put up impressive stats, racking up 149 total kills on the season as a freshman competing at the varsity level and she will not be looking to make friends with Paradise Valley’s back row.

However, the return of Berrington is bound to lift the Trojans’ spirits as they kick off the second half of their season against Willow Canyon on Monday.

The game starts at 6 p.m. Monday, Oct. 2, at Willow Canyon in Surprise.