BOYS VOLLEYBALL: Centennial perfect to end

Bulldogs unbeaten on way to winning state championship

Centennial's boys volleyball team stormed through its regular season and Sunset Region tournament undefeated for the second straight year, but this time, the Bulldogs stayed perfect to the end, punctuating a dream season with a sweep of Durango May 14 for the state championship.

Centennial, which also swept the Trailblazers in the Sunset Region final, defeated Durango 25-17, 25-18, 25-21 in the state title match to finish the year 23-0.

The Bulldogs, who lost to Chaparral in five sets in last season's state semifinals, avenged that loss in this year's state semis, sweeping the Cowboys on their home court, 25-20, 25-17, 25-20.

Despite losing three all-Sunset Region starters from last season's squad, Centennial was even more dominant this year, disposing of each opponent in three or four games, never forced to go the distance.

Centennial, which went 8-0 to win its Northwest Division for the third straight perfect campaign, cruised past Clark in the first round of the Sunset Region tournament -- 25-13, 25-12, 25-13 -- before getting extended to a rare four games against Bonanza in a 25-22, 22-25, 25-20, 25-19 triumph in the semifinals.

The Bulldogs, who topped Durango three times this year, started slowly against the Trailblazers (16-7) in the region title match, winning the first game 25-22, but then turned it on with 25-10 and 25-11 romps to complete a championship sweep.

David Fish, the only head coach in the school's four-year history, said this season's championship was more gratifying than last year.

"It's been more enjoyable. It's harder to defend the title," he said. "One of the reasons I came back to coach one more year was because I knew these kids would be a great chemistry group. They play for the team, not for individual glory.

"They're just a hard-working group. They come in and do their stuff and there's no personality conflicts, like teams sometimes have."

Centennial, with only two returnees from last year's squad, featured five new starters this season. Returning senior setter Daniel Wright was back to run the show, though, and earned Sunset Region MVP honors for the second straight year.

Wright, a 6-foot-5 team captain, averaged 32 assists per match this season and had 39 assists in the state semifinals and 41 more in the state championship match.

"He's the best setter in the state," Fish said. "He leads the offense on the court and also, being such a taller setter, he's in charge of blocking outside hitters.

"He's been a varsity setter for three years, so he has a lot of experience, and he's gotten taller, his hands have gotten even better and his defense is better."

Jeff Robinson, a 6-4 senior, filled the void left by Centennial's graduated outside hitters. Robinson, who averaged 12 kills per match this season, played for Western as a sophomore, then sat out last season after transferring to Centennial. He had a team-high 19 kills against Chaparral and led the Bulldogs with 18 kills in the state final.

"He's got a very good jump serve and he has very good vision on the court. He knows when to attack down the line or go for an angle," Fish said. "After losing two outside hitters last year, he helped come in and give us a big hitter we thought we would lose."

Lincoln Rogers, a 6-3 senior middle blocker, averaged nine kills per match, along with fellow senior middle blocker Mike Hilsabeck, the team's only other returnee. Rogers, who also played basketball for the Bulldogs, had six kills and four blocks in the state semis.

"Rogers and Mike Hilsabeck were dominant in the middle. They both hit over 70 percent," Fish said. "Their offensive skills are very good. They both hit the ball extremely hard and not many middles were able to keep up with them this year."

Kevin Sagers, an outside hitter, was the only junior in Centennial's starting lineup, but came alive in the postseason, capping it off with 16 kills in the state title tilt.

"He was huge in the playoffs. He was probably our most consistent hitter," Fish said. "He's only a junior, but he played like a senior, with his consistency, and brings a lot of energy to the court. He also increased his blocking ability tremendously."

Senior Bren Valles started at opposite hitter and senior Trey Tagliaferri was the team's defensive specialist.

"Bren, being a smaller player, brought some quickness and diversity to the team. He was part of the soccer team that lost in the state finals, so he brought the attitude that 'this is our last chance, so we've got to stay focused,' " Fish said. "(Tagliaferri) came in and gave us a good serve and was all over the court trying to keep balls off of the ground."

The Bulldogs also featured senior utility player Jake Chandler and juniors Jeff Evans, Jeff Thomas, Jona Ayat, Jon Miller, David Wagner and John Armstrong.

"Everyone could hit the ball and attack, so it made it tough for teams to defend us," Fish said. "They couldn't key on one or two players. We could attack from all six positions. We also had pretty good size and we put up a pretty good block."

Fish said he was confident his team could take home another region title this season, which he said was his last as volleyball coach, and had his sights set on state.

"You don't ever expect to go undefeated, but I thought the region was ours to defend," he said. "The last two years we've gone 34-0 in the region and we've won our division three straight years, undefeated at 8-0, so we had a lot of confidence in the region. We just had to beat the other side."


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