A day after a grueling five-set victory against Sierra Linda, Central swept Carl Hayden in straight sets, 25-11, 25-17, 25-13, to improve to 6-0 in regional play (10-1 overall).

The Bobcats were led by freshman outside hitter Alexa Villa, who recorded nine kills, and senior middle attacker Amanda York, who had seven kills.

Central showed no signs of fatigue from the night before, jumping out to a 10-2 lead in the first set before an early timeout from Carl Hayden.

“We’ve had a lot of time to build up our endurance for the large amounts of volleyball that we are playing,” York said. “So, I don’t think the five sets last night impacted us that much.”

Central cruised through the rest of the first set, but in the second set the Bobcats committed some errors and Carl Hayden took advantage to pull within one going into a timeout.  

“The girls came out a little flat to start the second set,” coach Gabe Macias said. “We always emphasize to execute the game plan, not pick up bad habits, and don’t play down to the other team’s level.”

Central came out of the timeout and picked up its game, but Carl Hayden didn’t back down. The two teams went back and forth and Central led 13-12.

“The coach over there did a good job,” coach Alex Ramirez said. “She saw that we had a big block up and she changed her game plan.”

Central countered with adjustments of its own, going on to win 25-17 behind a strong second set from Villa.

“I made a few mistakes, but those mistakes pushed me harder for the rest of the match,” Villa said.

Central got its bench involved in its 25-13 third-set victory.

“If we’re up by a lot we’re going to give girls looks,” Macias said. “That way if someone goes down we’re going to expect them to come in and execute.”

The Bobcats are not letting their strong start distract them. While they have the playoffs in sights, Central is taking it one game at a time.

“We’re still playing each game like it’s our last,” coach Jesse Santos said. “We’re not settling for 6-0. We want to make sure the intensity level is there and that every girl in class and on the court is doing their job.”

Central will play in the Chandler Prep Volleyball Invitational on Friday and then won’t play another regional match until Oct. 14 against South Mountain.