Colin McAdams is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Cesar Chavez High School for AZPreps365.com.

The Cesar Chavez Champions girls volleyball team suffered their eighth loss of the season as the Chandler Wolves swept them Tuesday night at Chandler,  25-12, 25-6, 25-11.

The Champions (1-8) got off to a slow start, allowing the Wolves (10-14) to gather a 17-9 lead in the first set before Chavez coach Miguel Marrero called a timeout. The break from play did not slow down Chandler as they were intent on finishing the first set quickly. Four combined kills by sophomore middle Lauren Grunewald and junior outside Taylor Neil helped the Wolves close out the set, 25-12.

Chandler was even more dominant in the second set, taking a commanding 15-2 lead en route to a 25-6 win.

Marrero offered some insight on his team's struggles early in the season.

“Our troubles come because of our home court," he said. "We don’t have a gym right now. We’re struggling to actually have practices. With our badminton and our small gym, we’re in a situation where we are overcoming some challenges.

"Last week we only had one game and had very little time to practice in the gym. It showed today how sluggish we were playing … just not practicing for a long time and then trying to come out here and play a very good team.”

The start of the third period showed some signs of life for the Champions offense, going up 3-0 before a kill from Wolves junior middle Monet Whittier gave Chandler their first points of the third period as well as the serve. Champions senior captain Madison Brenham did her best to keep the Wolves from getting too far ahead, hitting two kills to keep Chandler from going on a run early.

Chavez couldn’t hold their traction too much longer after that, allowing the Wolves to go on a 7-1 run to make the score 15-7. The Champions only managed four more points before three straight errors gave Chandler all the momentum they needed to end the third set, 25-11.

Marrero said that he was impressed by Brenham’s play.

“Madison is a phenomenal player all around," he said. "We just want to make sure we give her every opportunity to get those attacks. We just got to set her up with success. It starts with that one pass. Setters got to put it right, and she just has to put it on down.”

For the Wolves, Makenna Carillo carried the load for her team, getting an unofficial total of nine kills. 

Chandler coach Bobby Robson was impressed with her consistency.

“She's been working hard, staying consistent. If her work continues to get better and improves, she is going to keep scoring points, which is good for us,” Robson said. “Our region is super tough. We play some really talented teams, so we’re going to have to keep pushing the envelope a bit.”

Chandler will go for its fourth straight win  when the Wolves take on Tucson High Magnet School (4-7) in Tucson on Thursday.

Cesar Chavez plays Thurday night at Maryvale (1-6).