Despite winning the opening set in the quarterfinal matchup against the St. Margaret’s Tartans, the Centurions were eliminated from the playoffs at home.
The Centurions were defeated by St. Margaret’s in four sets, 29-27, 22-25, 22-25, 20-25, and finished their season as quarterfinalists in the Division 3 California Interscholastic Federation Southern Section playoffs.
“It was just one of those games where things didn’t always fall right for us,” Saugus head coach Zachary Ambrose said. “We were just a little bit out of sync. They fought really hard and every time they got down, they chipped back away at the score.”
In the first set, it was a battle until the very end.
After securing the 25th point, the Tartans were one point away from the win as the Centurions had 24 points. But back-to-back Taylor Stires kills kept Saugus in the game.
The teams exchanged kills, but it was Valeria Mejia who got the final say and landed an explosive kill for the first-set win.
In the second set, the Centurions looked like a different team.
Saugus trailed 20-14 following a Tartans kill and, despite a rally to claw back and stay within range of the Tartans, the Centurions lost the second set by three points.
The third set followed the same sequence as the second. The Tartans opened with a big lead but pulled through for a narrow win even with the Centurions rallying with scoring runs and at one point cutting the deficit to just one point.
“They were never out of it,” Ambrose said. “I just loved the competitiveness that they showed even when they were down.”
In the fourth set, even with the defeat, the team rallied and stayed competitive until the final serve.
Saugus rallied to cut the deficit toward the end after trailing 20-12 following a kill from the Tartans’ offense.
In the end, the Tartans sealed the game win with a fourth-set victory and ended the Centurions’ season at home.
“When you get to this point of the year, nothing’s easy, and you’re going to have to fight for everything,” Ambrose said. “I just appreciate the effort that they gave.”
With the loss, it officially ends the season for the girls’ volleyball team, a roster with notable seniors such as Taylor Stires and Victoria Vacas, players who left big impacts on the team in the postseason.
Following the game, Ambrose just had one message for them, to enjoy the time spent together and reflect on a season that had a lot of success, with Saugus winning over 30 games.
“Enjoy each other, enjoy the time that you spent together on the court, and I thank them for all that they gave and that the young ones have some big shoes to fill, because there were some really good seniors that are leaving.”
