LA JARA – Centauri High School opened the gymnasium on the new campus on Saturday and the Lady Falcon volleyball team celebrated the grand opening with a win over La Junta.
Centauri defeated the Lady Tigers 25-11, 25-15 and 25-15.
“It was a good game,” said Centauri coach Ali Miller. “I’m super proud of them. They played awesome. I think the new gym helped as little bit. It helped us push through it.”
Hannah Curtis gave the Lady Falcons the early lead in the first set with a kill. The Lady Tigers tied the score at 1-1, but Centauri ran off six straight points to take a 7-1 lead. Curtis and Kailyn Polzin both had two kills in the run.
La Junta closed the lead to 9-4, but Centauri went on a 5-1 rally for a 15-6 advantage. Austyn Shawcroft recorded a pair of kills in the run.
Whitney Denahy scored three kills as the Lady Tigers narrowed their deficit to 15-9. But the Lady Falcons went on another 6-0 run with Camryn Wilfong recording two service aces. Centauri finished the first set by scoring four of the final six points.
The Lady Falcons took an early 3-0 lead in the second set. The Lady Tigers closed to within 4-2, but Centauri scored 12 of the next 15 points to increase its lead to 16-5.
La Junta pulled to within 18-9 and it maintained its momentum to reduce the Centauri lead to 22-15. However, the Lady Falcons finished the set the same way as it started by scoring three straight points.
A Reece Addington ace gave the Lady Tigers a 1-0 lead to start the third set. But the Lady Falcons went on a 5-2 run for a 5-3 edge.
La Junta answered with four straight points to go in front at 7-5. It eventually increased its lead to 10-7.
Centauri scored three unanswered points to tie the score at 10-10. La Junta regained the lead at 12-10, but the Lady Falcons scored eight consecutive points with Wilfong scoring three aces in the run.
The Lady Tigers closed to within 18-14, however, the Lady Falcons scored seven of the last eight points of the set to seal the victory.
Centauri was very effective at the net with a well-balanced attack. Polzin led the Lady Falcons with 11 kills, followed by Abbey Smith with seven, and Curtis and Shawcroft both with six.
“We had our big middle blockers Kailyn Polzin and Austyn Shawcroft,” Miller said. “They were super consistent. Then our outside hitters are unstoppable right now. They’ doing awesome.”
Wilfong led in assists with 12 and Taylor Munson was next with 11. Wilfong also led in service aces with six.
Centauri (2-0) will have a very tough opponent for its next match as it will travel to third-ranked Lamar.
“They placed high at state last year,” Miller said. “But we’re going to get them.”
