Daniella Trujillo is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism Student assigned to cover Centennial High School for AZPreps365.com

The Centennial Coyotes won the rematch against one of their longest-standing rivals, the Sunrise Mountain Mustangs, in Peoria Oct. 17.

Both teams were fighting to the very last set to win the best out of five. But after losing two sets in a row, the Coyotes fought back and won 25-15, 19-25, 13-25, 25-17, 15-11.

Senior captains Kira Federico and Raeli Smith noted how the team has been preparing for this game and how the team has improved since the last game against the Mustangs.

“We have been working on executing plays more and putting purpose behind every single ball,” Federico said. “In practice, we have been going all out, and working more on our team bonding and making sure we are definitely communicating with each other.”

Smith added, “We have worked on a lot more of the competition aspect of the game and have done a lot of drills where we are competing against each other really focusing on our skills.”

In the first set, the Coyotes came out strong, earning the first point and maintaining a lead after letting the Mustangs get ahead by two points. The Coyotes stayed ahead for the rest of the set and only allowed a three-point difference until stopping them at 15 points. 

What was a tight first set turned into a 25-15 victory. 

In the next two sets, Sunrise came back, getting ahead of the Coyotes and holding the Coyotes to below 20 points.

However, Centennial came back alive in the fourth set, forcing a tie-breaker set for the win. With the help of freshman Alex Thompson with 15 kills and 16 digs, senior Aspen Krumpos with 20 set assists, Federico with 37 digs, and the constant communication and positive energy, Centennial took the game 15-11.

Thompson said the major difference between the beginning of the season and now is how they bonded as a team and this has greatly improved their confidence.

“As a team, we have talked about how we have to trust each other and everyone will do their jobs,” Thompson said. “We are taking it game by game, focusing week by week, day by day, and really pushing it during practice and focusing on little things in the game.”

With such a great comeback not only in the game but also as a rematch against a big rival, the team’s growth and improvement are evident. With only three regular-season games left, playoffs are just around the corner. 

Centennial coach Reagan Leonard said the team is ranked ninth in the state and that the team is peaking at the right time.

“I am excited to see what we are going to do in playoffs,” Leonard said. “We want to continue this vibe and continue to play hard. We have been a little inconsistent with how we play energy-wise, but one of our big focuses is being good teammates and having good energy.”

Following this win, Centennial Coyotes went on to fall to Chaparral High School Oct. 19. The Coyotes will travel to Ironwood (19-14) on Oct. 24 and to Apollo Oct. 25 to end the regular season.