After securing a first-round sweep at home, the Saugus girls’ volleyball team followed up its performance with a second-round win over the Polytechnic Panthers.
The Centurions defeated the Panthers in five sets, 25-22, 21-25, 21-25, 25-18, 15-9, and advanced to the quarterfinals of the Division 3 California Interscholastic Federation Southern Section playoffs.
“After game three, it was about making sure that they stayed within our defensive system,” Saugus head coach Zachary Ambrose said. “They went on a run, they got hot, their passing was good, and they were hitting a lot of good balls.”
In the opening set, the Centurions trailed 4-1, which prompted Ambrose to call a timeout in an attempt to stop Polytechnic’s momentum.
Following the stoppage, the Centurions tied the set at 5 apiece and took the lead following timely blocks from Taylor Stires and Victoria Vacas.
Throughout the rest of the first set, the teams traded blows and leads as neither were able to extend it further than two points.
In the end, Saugus pulled through for the win following timely blocks and an ace from Stires for the set point.
“It’s always easier to get those points because you don’t have to play defense behind them,” Ambrose said in response to the key blocks Saugus made all night. “And then, hopefully you rattle the other side a little bit and make them have to make a different choice the next time they go up.”
Despite the first-set win, Saugus wasn’t able to pull away from Polytechnic.
The Centurions led early but trailed after mistakes from their offense. After another timeout from Ambrose, the team got back on track and tied the set at 15 apiece after trailing by four.
And just like the first set, the second was a back-and-forth game until the very end. Mistakes cost the Centurions, and the Panthers took advantage and evened the series.
In the third set, the Centurions again trailed to the Panthers 18-17. Following a rally to cut the deficit to one as they trailed 22-21, the Panthers closed the set out with the win.
Facing elimination, the Centurions opened the fourth set with a 19-13 lead following a hitting error from the Panthers.
After adding another point off an error from Polytechnic, the Panthers rallied themselves and cut the deficit to 20-18.
With all the momentum on the Panthers, Ambrose called another timeout to get his team back on track, and the Centurions closed the set with a 7-0 scoring run to force a fifth set.
“Ball control, a lot of passing, not errors, but not passing well enough to force them to have to make choices on defense,” Ambrose said. “And so, we were kind of stuck setting one ball. They had a couple of big blockers, and we were just stuck hitting into their biggest two blockers with not a lot of room to go around.”
In the fifth set, the Centurions played cleanly to clinch the final win and avoid an upset at home.
Following the game, Ambrose said the win was a team accomplishment and that, with a team that doesn’t have much experience in the playoffs, they executed when they needed to.
“Just get a little bit better every day. Learn from your mistakes,” he said when asked what he told his team after the game. “And that will carry you through, especially because we don’t have as much experience and a little bit more emotional sometimes. I just got to tell them, do what we train and trust it. And they did a good job coming back.”
With the win, the Centurions advance to the next round and will host the St. Margarets Tartans of San Juan Capistrano.
The game will be at Saugus High School on Wednesday and is set to begin at 5:15 p.m.
