Centennial NIAA SUNSET REGIONAL CHAMPIONS!!!

Centennial 3 Shadow Ridge 1 (20-25, 25-14, 25-19, 25-18)

This match was very competitive and tested which team would have better ball control and shot placement coupled with powerful attacking.  In game one Shadow Ridge was in control from beginning to end charging to an early lead and never looking back.  OH Taylor Lancaster raced out of the blocks for the Mustangs and propelled them with 4 kills while Jeremy Makaiwi kept dishing out the assists and tallied a couple of service aces.  Centennial was paced by some nice outside hitting from Cameron Olson who had 6 kills in the opening stanza. The Bulldogs closed on the opening lead built by Shadow Ridge but the Mustangs closed at 25-20.

Centennial shrugged off the early game jitters in set 2 and charged to a 7-2 lead.  Now the Bulldogs were forcing the action more with much more energy and star middle blocker Tyler Rogers really got on track with 4 kills and 2 blocks.  Shadow Ridge was not playing as aggressively as they had in set 1 and setter Leo Durkin took advantage dishing sweet sets but also scoring three dumps to keep the Mustangs defense guessing and set 2 went to the Bulldogs 25-14.

Set three was very closely contested with both teams early trying to out-finesse the other.  Both coaches were imploring their hitters to take more aggressive swings and pound out some kills.  OH Matt Kurtz really stepped his game up in this set scoring 6 kills and 2 blocks and seemed to be the hitter that rallied his team.  Jake Shea also raised the level for the Mustangs with 3 kills and some good aggressive swings but it wasn’t enough as the Bulldogs took the momentum and won set 3, 25-19 and a 2 games to 1 advantage.

Centennial got out to an early lead in set 4 but could not open a considerable separation and the game was very tight at the first timeout with the Bulldogs holding on to a 15-12 advantage.  After a brief stage of both teams playing a little timid going back and forth with side outs, Cameron Olsen registered a huge solo block and Centennial held a 23-17 lead which they would not relinquish.  Matt Kurtz tallied 5 more kills in this set to lead the Bulldogs with 19 total kills.  The Mustangs were led by Jake Shea and Taylor Lancaster who each had 8 kills.

Shadow Ridge will play Las Vegas high school in the state semifinals on Tuesday at 5pm, while Centennial will battle Coronado at 7pm. All matches will be played at Palo Verde High School with the State Championship match is slated for Wednesday at 7pm.