Centennial sweeps Liberty, advances to volleyball semifinals
| Thursday, Nov 12 2009 10:38 PM
Last Updated Thursday, Nov 12 2009 11:26 PM
Images
Michael Fagans / The Californian Centennial's Alyssa Gammel, left, Regan Richert, Lauren Campbell and Carly Maxwell celebrate their quarterfinal win over Liberty at Centennial on Thursday night in Bakersfield.
Centennial High School controlled every facet of Thursday night's Division I volleyball matchup against rival Liberty and coasted to a 25-17, 25-19, 25-17 win at Centennial.
The Golden Hawks (29-3), the No. 3 seed in the Div. I playoffs and unbeaten against Central Section teams this season, travel to second-seeded Clovis West on Tuesday for a semifinal match.
"This never gets old," said outside hitter Lacey Congdon, the Hawks' only starting senior who led the way in the first 11/2 games en route to nine kills, 10 digs and five aces. "Liberty is one of my favorite games because they're a challenge and a big rival. Any team can win."
But Centennial was never seriously threatened by Liberty, which ends its season 22-10. The Hawks had superior serving, passing and net play that kept Liberty off-balance.
"Sometimes when you go through a season there are days when things just click," Centennial coach Brooke Roberts said. "I felt there have been three or four times this season when we've turned the corner. This felt big.
"Liberty is such a formidable opponent. They won't go away. They just keep coming after you. ... They were as good a preparation (for future playoff matches) as anyone we could have faced. I thought our kids were awesome."
Alyssa Gammel had 16 kills, 11 digs and two blocks for Centennial, setter Carly Maxwell had 34 assists and six digs and middle blocker Regan Richert had seven kills and 17 digs while creating havoc at the net.
"We're playing so together as a team," Gammel said. "We're a very strong team and we're all close friends. If someone makes a mistake, we shake it off."
Liberty had 13 kills by Kristin Halling and 26 assists by Emily Cote.
"Centennial is a superior team," said Liberty coach Lean Slayton. "It's hard to get anything going against a team that plays as flawless as Centennial does."
