By Richard Smith
Twitter: @rsmithYWV

Things sure can change in the space  of two weeks.

Suddenly, it was the Centennial girls volleyball team entering its away match with Sunrise Mountain  in need of a victory in this rivalry - following a five-set loss to the Mustangs at home on Oct. 9  and two more in the district tournament.

On Oct. 22 the injury-riddled Coyotes dug deep  in north Peoria after losing the first set, knocking off the Mustangs 23-25,  25-22,  25-23, 25-22.

"When we played them at our place, we played them really well in the first set. We just didn't sustain things. Sunrise played better too," Centennial coach Cari Bauer said after the match. "And Ashley (Lifgren) rolled her ankle pretty bad Thursday night (during the tournament). If you would have seen what her ankle looked like Thursday night you never would have thought ... she's the toughest kid I know."

Sunrise Mountain (24-10, 4-2 Nortwest Region after this match) built a solid lead in the first set and relied on junior outside hitter Adna Mehmedovic  to establish control.

A middle blocker until this season, Mehmedovic hit four of her match-high 22 kills in the opening frame.

"She's come leaps and bounds from the first match of the season. She's gotten a lot more consistent and done really well at keeping her head up as much as she can," Sunrise Mountain coach Brandi Jans said. "And she is our go-to player. That's a lot of pressure on her. But for the most part I feel like she's handled it very well."

Lifgren and Mehmedovic  nearly alternated kills early in the second set.  But as Lifgren's ankle became more troublesome, Centennial (23-9, 5-1 after the match) needed a new plan A in attack.

Enter versatile senior middle blocker Nyjha Marcelin as the focal point of the attack. She finished the set with three kilss, a solo block and the ace that won it.

"The other  matches we weren't communicating very well so we talked about that," senior setter Kacey Stewart said. "You could see in Ashley's eyes that she was hurting. So you set her but after a while you can't anymore."

Stewart's distribution also changed the tone of the match. Her 37 assists matched the combined total of Mustangs senior Shauna Rath and junior Paige Harmann.

Marcelin finished the third set with two solo blocks and six kills  - several after Stewart almost got down on one knee to make a middle set.

"When her and Kacey start connecting and we pass well and get  in system, she's fun to watch," Bauer said. "People feed off her energy. There's so many little things (Kacey) does that people don't realize but she's a core chemistry player on this team."

The duo powered the Coyotes to a 17-11 lead, though the Mustangs fought all the way back to tie at 23.

Marcelin hit a tie-breaking kill. Junior right side Kennedy Farley became the second Coyote to win a set by serving an ace.

"I think they gained a lot of confidence from that match. We played our hearts out and it was point for point every game," Jans said. "Here, we had quite a bit of holes we had to dig out of  and it was too alte. You can't do that against a team as good as Centennial."

The Mustangs regrouped and started out the fourth set like the team that beat Centennial twice four days prior, including for the district tournament title.

Mehmedovic had support from senior right side Kimber Roberts and senior middle blocker Hannah Richman to grab a 12-7 lead.

"She has come extremely far. It's the same thing with her consistency. I tell our setters, if we're in a rut give it to Hannah. She'll be vocal and has been a great leader on the court this year," Jans said.

But Farley served two aces to bring the visitors close.  Then, after drawing close, the Coyotes made the match-defining run on the strength of their eighth regular player.

While seven Centennial players are often ironwomen, freshman  libero Kira Federico rotates  in to serve and receive the subsequent serve.

In the fourth set she served five straight winning points for the Coyotes, including an ace. Centennial now had a 21-17 lead.

Sunrise Mountain made a late run but a communication error led to a misplay on the final set.

WHAT'S NEXT:

 Sunrise Mountain: The Mustangs can still grab a slice of the region title if they win at Phoenix Sunnyslope  Tuesday night.

Sunrise Mountain is now tied for second in the region with Centennial at 5-2, after the Mustangs swept Kellis  Thursday night. Sunnyslope is 6-1.

A Sunrise Mountain win would produce a true three-way tie for the region, as the three teams would each sport a 1-1 record against each other.

And Jans' team is ranked seventh in 5A, in a solid position for a bye into the first round plus a home game.

That's why after the Centennial game, her message was, don't get down on yourselves. Her team still has everything in front of them.

Centennial:  The Coyotes lost Oct. 24 in five sets against a Sunnyslope team they swept earlier.

Lifgren played  in all five sets, but it's clear she was hobbled and was used less than in the match at Sunrise Mountain. She attempted a team-high 47 attacks in four sets with the Mustangs, but dropped to 28 attempts in five sets against the Vikings - while Marcelin dominated with 61 attacks and 28 kills.

Look for Lifgren to rest most, if not all, of senior night Tuesday against Apollo. The Coyotes are ranked #4 in 5A and should get a bye and relatively simple home playoff match Nov. 5.

After the Sunrise Mountain win, Bauer said the Sunnyslope match was important but not crucial. She would rather her team and its star be ready for state.

At the same time, Bauer said she realizes how badly Lifgren wants to compete.

"It's her senior year. She's the reason we're in this position, her and Nyjha and Kacie and Kennedy," Bauer said.