Gabriella Malamed is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Central High School for AZPreps365.com.

PHOENIX— The red-hot Central girls volleyball team served Camelback a cold dish of revenge on Monday night. The Bobcats outlasted the Spartans in five sets—25-17, 25-22, 14-25, 25-27, 15-10— to clinch their fourth win in a row.

"They owed themselves that game, they've been working really hard," coach Laura Phillips said. "I'm very proud of them."

When Central and Camelback last met, on October 13, the Spartans handed the Bobcats their second region loss in four sets at Central High School. That loss, the Bobcats' only defeat in the previous seven matches, had put Central slightly off-track for a region championship. Almost two weeks later, though, after a two-hour match in the Nadine Sass Gymnasium— the Spartans got a taste of their own medicine.

"Although we wanted to do it in three— I'll take the win," senior setter Kayla Bedonie said. "I'm just glad that we did finish it."

 

Sophomore Abigail Hernandez-Valenzuela serves up the ball (Gabriella Malamed / AZpreps365)

Central played nearly mistake-free in winning the first set, 25-17. The team combined for 15 hits and 10 kills with only two hitting errors. With the score11-9, middle blocker Janiah Gary had big back-to-back blocks for points 12 and 13. This was during libero Kenessa Beaird's five-point run at server to go up 14-9. The Spartans were never able to catch up in this set.

The second set was animated offensively and provided a closer outcome, 25-22. The Bobcats combined again for 23 hits and 6 kills, all assisted by Bedonie.The senior captain would finish the night with 19 assists in total. The set ended on a hit and kill from junior Chantal Lopez-Beltran.

In the third set the host Spartans broke a 5-5 tie with a 12-point run to go up 17-5. The Bobcats, flummoxed by Camelback's offense and defense, were unable to recover and lost the set. "We were playing through the motions," Bedonie said. "We weren't playing to win."

Central trailed 24-17 in the third set but refused to surrender quietly. Bobcat sophomore Abigail Hernandez-Valenzuela served for seven straight points to tie the game, 24-24.  "With the crowd screaming and all the noises, I can get easily distracted," Hernandez-Valenzuela said. "So I just try my hardest to block everything out and just serve the ball." 

Though the Bobcats lost the set, 27-25, the fight and fire from the begining of the match was rekindled.

Capitalizing on the momentum gained from the end of the fourth set, Central won the fifth and final set, 15-10. Once again, Hernandez-Valenzuela took over serving with the game knotted (8-8) and embarked on a succesful service run. Six straight points this time, to give the Bobcats a commanding 14-8 lead. Camelback would end the run before match point, but soon after the Bobcats sealed the triumph.

"I told them at that point it was on them and they just had to dig deep and figure it out," Phillips said. "I'm glad they were able to rally together and finish it."

 

 

This win against the Spartans (3-6) secures the Bobcats' (7-2) spot in second place in the 5A Metro region. The next and final game of the Bobcats' season will be played against Metro Tech  Central High School on Tuesday, October 26 at 6PM. The Knights (8-1), the only team besides Camelback to defeat Central, are currently in first place.

A Bobcat win on Tuesday at home would mean a split region-championship. 

"We're a different team compared to who we were the last time we played (Metro)," Bedonie said. "I believe we're taking them in three."