SANFORD – It was highly emotionally charged match on Thursday as the Sanford High School volleyball team hosted Centauri at the SHS gym.
The Lady Falcons won in three sets, but the Lady Mustangs didn’t make it easy. The scores were 25-17, 25-21 and 25-23.
“It was a good game,” said Centauri coach Ali Miller. “We never think that Sanford ever is going to be an easy game.”
Centauri took a 3-1 lead to begin the first set. After a brief Sanford side out, the Lady Falcons scored six straight points to take a 9-2 lead.
Centauri increased the lead to 12-4 before Sanford came back to close the margin to 13-9. The Lady Falcons pushed the lead to 15-9, and after the teams traded side outs, the Lady Falcons went on a 6-2 run for a 23-14 advantage.
The Lady Mustangs narrowed the deficit to 23-17, but Centauri scored the final two points for a 25-17 win.
Sanford got off to a fast start in the second set as it scored the first four points. Centauri, however, scored the next 10 to take a 10-4 advantage.
The Lady Mustangs went on a 5-1 run to reduce the Lady Falcons’ lead t0 11-9. Centauri answered with a 4-0 run, but Sanford did the same.
The Lady Falcons went on an 8-2 run for a 23-15 lead. But the Lady Mustangs had a 6-1 rally to close within 24-21.
Centauri scored the final point on a Sanford service error and won 25-21.
The Lady Mustangs scored the first two points of the third set, but the Lady Falcons scored three in a row. Sanford had a 4-1 run to take a 6-4 lead, and after the teams exchanged 2-0 runs, the Lady Mustangs went on a 4-1 run for a 12-8 advantage.
Centauri scored four unanswered points to tie the score at 12-12. Sanford had a brief side out, but the Lady Falcons scored three in a row for a 15-13 lead,
The Lady Mustangs then went on a 7-4 run to regain the lead at 20-18. Centauri tied the score at 20-20, and Sanford scored two in a row for a 22-20 lead.
The Lady Falcons scored five of the final six points to take the victory 25-23.
Aubree Ullery led the Centauri offense with 30 assists. Rylie McCarroll led in kills with 14, followed by Joselyn McCarroll with eight, Kynlei Curtis with seven and Kimbry Wilfong with five. Ullery also led in service aces with three.
The Sanford offense was led by Brooklynn Reynolds with 22 assists. Bella Peterson was the kills leader with 10, followed by Shasta Bond with seven. Reynolds also led in aces with four, followed by Bond with two.
Centauri (6-8, 2-2) played at Colorado Springs Christian on Friday. It will have a rematch with Alamosa on the road on Tuesday.
“We’re ready for them,” Miller said. “It’s going to be a good game as well.”
Sanford (8-5, 3-1) will host Center on Saturday.
