Volleyball Recap: Dynamic Duo of Casian Zirbo and Heath Mcpherson Lead Deer Valley to Victory

Deer Valley won the last time they faced Agua Fria, and Seath Brightwell did his part to make sure it happened again. Deer Valley put the hurt on Agua Fria with a sharp 3-0 victory on Thursday for which the team can thank Brightwell, who had 15 digs and two aces. That's the most digs he has posted over his last seven matches.

While Deer Valley won a shutout, things came down to the wire in the second set they played. Once all was said and done, the final score wound up at 25-17, 25-22, 25-18.

Casian Zirbo

Attacks Kills

03/27/25 vs Agua Fria	11
03/25/25 @ Cactus	15
03/15/25 vs Arizona College Prep	14
03/15/25 vs Desert Vista	9
03/14/25 vs Willow Canyon	7
+ 27 more games

Deer Valley was led to victory by Heath McPherson and Casian Zirbo. McPherson had four digs, three aces, and two blocks, while Zirbo had 11 kills, three aces, and one block. Zirbo has been hot for a while, having posted five or more kills the last 32 times he's played.

They weren't the only good server: Deer Valley was lethal from the service line and finished the game with 14 aces. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now served at least five aces in seven consecutive games.

When it comes to explaining why Agua Fria lost, don't look at Xavier Matthews. Despite the final result, he had 16 assists and five digs. Ren Tran also deserves some recognition as he posted his first assist of the season.

Deer Valley has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won six of their last seven contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 11-5 record this season. The loss snapped Agua Fria's winning streak at four games and leaves them with a 9-4 record.

We've got plenty of inter-region action coming up soon. Deer Valley will challenge rival Peoria at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Agua Fria is set to face off against their familiar foe Cactus at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday.