Saugus girls’ volleyball’s playoff experience was more than apparent in Wednesday night’s CIF playoff opener.
The Centurions shined in all aspects of the game en route to a home sweep of the Marlborough Mustangs, 25-15, 25-18, 25-18.
Saugus’ strong serving was again able to keep its opponent out of system while the offense had one of its more efficient outings.
Freshman Valerie Mejia shined brightest at the end line, where she registered five aces to help Saugus (39-1) push ahead. Mejia’s serving led to big runs in the first two games and gave Saugus a comfortable lead heading to both set points.
“We executed well in the serving and didn’t allow them to get comfortable in their offense,” said Saugus coach Zach Ambrose. “I think that also helped us pick up those blocks.”
The Centurions made consistent defensive contact on the net. Middle blocker Ayden Jacobson led the group while sophomore Kimora Hogains added four. Hogains and Mejia looked just like their veteran teammates and were poised throughout the Division 2 opener.
“Kimora is probably our highest-energy player,” Ambrose said. “She’s just really quick, jumps really well, and gives us those sparks when we need them to get over the hump.”
Senior Leila Ballard led Saugus on the net with 19 kills and a .500 kill percentage. Ballard also matched libero Gabriela Cascione with 13 digs, in another stellar passing match that led to smooth sailing for Centurion setter Morgan Guardado, who added 28 assists and 12 digs.
The Centurions lost a little bit of steam after taking a sizable lead in the first set.
“I think we came out a little bit sluggish overall,” Ambrose said. “We got that big lead in game one, and then kind of lost a little bit of steam. The other team was battling really well. We weren’t particularly playing bad, but it wasn’t just our normal fast-paced style.”
Marlborough (22-7) had some solid height along with big swings. However, Saugus made it difficult for either of the Mustangs’ top two options to get going behind sound defense on the net and in the back row.
Saugus will now get its first road test of the postseason in a battle with the Aliso Niguel Wolverines (21-9), a fellow battle-tested team coming off a home win in their playoff opener.
The Centurions will fight for their first road playoff win in two years on Saturday when Saugus heads to Aliso Viejo to take on the Wolverines at 6 p.m.
Ambrose felt his team thrived off the energy brought by the booming Saugus student section but will hope to see the Centurions create their own spark on the road.
“We need some more energy,” Ambrose said. “We always play up to our competition. So I’m never worried about that when we play really good teams. Going into this matchup, I think they’re going to be just fine, and they’re going to be ready to do what they got to do to win.”
