Centennial girls rally in first game to notch sweep of Arbor View

Centennial’s girls volleyball team found itself trailing host Arbor View 20-18 in the first game, but a timeout and an Aggie sideout was all the Bulldogs needed to pick up a 25-22, 25-6, 25-16 road win over Arbor View on Tuesday.

Arbor View (8-6, 0-1 Northwest League) clung to a two-point advantage in the first game when coach Tina Studards used her second timeout, but the break ended up helping the Bulldogs (8-3, 2-0 Northwest) as the teams then traded sideouts before Centennial scored the final five points and stole the important opening set.

“After a slow start, we were able to come back and build momentum,” said Centennial coach Shannon Alia, who said she was pleased at the team’s comeback. “We kept it going and did not release the momentum.”

Alia credited middle blocker Alli Tatom, setter Lacy Miyahira and substitute Brooke Rogers with solid play that turned the first game and the tone of the match.

The Aggies’ Falon Miller recorded most of her match-high 20 digs in the opening game.

Centennial opened the second game on a 4-0 run en route to a 9-2 lead. Aggressive play by middle hitters Tatom and Alex Johnson, who finished with 10 blocks apiece, allowed the Bulldogs to surge to an easy win.

The errors that cost the Aggies the first game continued through the match. In the third game, the Aggies gifted the Bulldogs 21 points on a variety of service, serve reception and hitting errors.

Studards acknowledged that serving had been a concern with her team since the summer but that she was surprised by the lack of quality in the receiving game.

“Serve reception has been a strength of ours,” she added. “We were heavy on errors and now have to work to fix that.”

Erika Kelly was a bright spot for the Aggies, finishing with seven kills, nine blocks and seven digs.