LA JARA – One thing you can count on during a rival match is that records and statistics are meaningless.
It was that way when the fifth-ranked Alamosa High School volleyball team traveled to face Centauri Tuesday at the Lady Falcons’ court.
The Lady Mean Moose won in three sets, but it wasn’t easy. The scores were 25-15, 25-18 and 25-21.
“It’s an emotional game and we were looking to stay composed and wound up on top,” said Alamosa coach Annie Mortensen. “I think we made a lot of errors we don’t normally make and that’s due to a rival game. I think we’re a solid team.”
“We always put up a fight,” said Centauri coach Ali Miller. “Don’t ever count Centauri out.”
The teams opened the first set by exchanging side outs before Alamosa took a 4-3 lead. After a brief Centauri side out, the Lady Mean Moose scored five straight points for a 9-4 advantage.
The Lady Falcons closed to within 10-7, but Alamosa pushed the lead to 15-9.
Centauri then scored four consecutive points to cut its deficit to 15-13.
But the Lady Mean Moose finished strong by scoring 10 of the final 12 points and they took a 25-15 win.
Alamosa took a 4-0 lead to begin the second set. After a brief Centauri side out, The Lady Mean Moose scored four more points for an 8-1 advantage.
The Lady Falcons closed the gap to 9-4 before Alamosa extended the lead to 12-4.
Centauri began to chip at the lead and reduced the deficit to 18-14. Alamosa increased the lead to 21-14, but the Lady Falcons closed to within 22-17.
The Lady Mean Moose again finished strong by scoring three of the last four points to take a 25-18 victory.
Alamosa took an 8-3 advantage to open the third set, but Centauri rallied to cut the lead to 13-11. The Lady Mean Moose regained the momentum and pushed the lead to 19-14, but the Lady Falcons came back to tie the score at 19-19.
The teams traded side outs, but Alamosa had a strong finish again, scoring five for the final six points and claiming a 25-21 win.
Morgan Ortega led Alamosa with 14 assists and nine kills. Aubrey Rothermich had eight kills and she also had two service aces. Taybor Wiedeman also had two aces.
Aubree Ullery led Centauri with eight assists. Mikasa Gilleland led in kills with five, followed by Rylie McCarroll with four. Ullery, McCarroll and Paige Sowards each had one ace.
Alamosa (10-2, 3-0) will have a long layoff before resuming play at home against Montezuma-Cortez on Sept. 27.
“We’re going to practice the next two days, then give them a long weekend,” Mortensen said. “We’re going to come back refreshed.”
Centauri (3-6, 0-1) will host Pueblo East on Friday.
“We’re going to do the and do the same thing we’ve been doing,” Miller said. “The girls have been putting in the work and they’re amazing.”
