The Tanque Verde Hawks volleyball team finished off an undefeated conference slate with a sweep over Sabino High School 3-0 on Thursday night.

 

The Hawks entered the game with the record of 26-4 and were looking to finish an undefeated conference campaign at 10-0 with a win at Sabino.

 

The Sabercats entered the matchup with an overall record of 12-9 and with a win against Tanque Verde they were looking to finish the conference slate at .500 for the year.

 

Tanque Verde relied on all of their players to be successful in this match and eventually led the sweep for the Hawks.

 

“I think we are just playing consistent volleyball right now. Our girls are pretty level minded so if we get a couple points down, we don’t get too low or too high,” said Tanque Verde head coach Michelle Malis. “We like to have a constant attack at the other team and it’s hard to handle sometimes,” she continued.

 

The Hawks relied heavily on that consistent play to help propel themselves. But not without a fight from Sabino.

 

The Sabercats clawed through the first set, continuing to respond to each blow from the Hawks but would eventually fall with the score of 25-22 in favor of Tanque Verde.

 

The Hawks returned to the court with more energy, winning the next set 25-13 and scoring eight of the last nine points in the set to give Tanque Verde a 2-0 set advantage.

 

While the Sabercats were on the short end of the game, they continued to stay motivated throughout.

 

“They are pretty motivated, and they lean on each other heavily and rely on each other to keep each other motivated,” said Sabino head coach, Courtney Pehl.

 

Even with the motivation of the Sabercats, the Hawks continued to stay focused while being up two sets.

 

“Everyone takes care of their job, and we just keep the focus in mind and we have to get it done,” said Tanque Verde captain, Ainsley Malis.

 

In the final set Sabino showed life, but it would not be enough with the Hawks taking the match with the score of 25-16.

 

The Hawks finish the season with an undefeated record in conference play and are now preparing to make a run in the state playoffs.

 

“We feel great, we have played really good teams this year and we have done really well at pushing through and I think we will go really far this year,” said Ainsley.

 

“We have had our mind set on going to state all year so this wasn’t a surprise. I think that is why you don’t see us getting totally excited about winning this match because we still have work to do,” said coach Malis. “We started the season with the end in mind, and that has been the whole focus all season. So, when we won tournaments or won big matches, it was just one more step toward where we want to be,” she continued.

 

The Hawks now draw their focus to the state tournament where they look to make a deep run to finish off the year.