The Centralia volleyball team came away with a reverse sweep at home against Aberdeen, bouncing back from a two-set deficit to win 22-25, 16-25, 25-23, 25-20, 15-12.
“Our girls really came together,” Centralia coach Marti Smith said. “It was a great win.”
The Tigers led for most of the first set before Aberdeen rallied late, and several unforced errors from the Tigers helped the Bobcats take control in the second set.
“We were just making it too easy for them to run their offense,” Smith said. “And it showed.”
The third set “was a weird one,” according to Smith, but she was happy that they were able to extend the match.
In that third set, Smith and her coaches made the decision to swap where their two setters, Ceinna Arelong and McKenna Smith, set up.
“It seems like we were able to start generating a lot more,” Marti Smith said. “They hit the gas pedal … We had some girls really come through.”
After taking the fourth set, the Tigers fell behind 4-0 to start the fifth, but a quick timeout reset the group, and they scored five straight points to take the lead.
Marti Smith commended Kendall Guenther for her play at the net in the final two sets, saying that her blocking helped disrupt the flow that the Aberdeen hitters were able to get into earlier in the game.
Guenther finished with 10 kills and four blocks, while Arelong was perfect on 15 attempts from the service line while adding 18 digs and seven kills.
McKenna Smith added 20 assists, 18 digs, and five kills while missing just one of 12 serves, and Ryleigh Butler tallied 14 digs and seven kills without missing a serve. Makenzie Erickson added 24 digs while going 15 for 16 from the line.
As a team, the Tigers served 94 percent as a team, which was their second-best mark of the season. Their best mark of 95 percent came in their first win over Aberdeen on Sept. 30.
With the win, the Tigers are now tied for second with Black Hills and Shelton, one game (plus the tiebreaker) up on Aberdeen.
Centralia (6-6, 3-3 2A EvCo) will head north to face Black Hills on Tuesday.
