Centennial – Good things do not come in threes for the Cherry Creek Bruins. Faced with the chance to close out Arapahoe in consecutive games Wednesday, the Bruins fell back into an old routine.
“This team, since freshman year, has struggled with the same thing,” senior Kaitlin Knight said. “We’re such a roller coaster. Last year we won few third games. But we’re working on it.”
The No. 4 Bruins dropped the third game against the Warriors but held on in the fourth for a 25-21, 28-26, 21-25, 25-21 Class 5A nonleague win at raucous Sitting Eagle Gymnasium.
Senior middle Cara Quayle led the Bruins (4-0) with 11 kills and two blocks while Knight added nine kills and Vanessa Van Horn contributed eight.
Loaded with eight seniors and five players 6 feet or taller, the Bruins showed flashes of brilliance and spells of inconsistency in their first game against an in-state opponent.
“That was a great first match and they’re a good team,” Bruins coach Sally Moos said. “I think that happens sometimes. You get up two games and then you kind of let down a little bit. It’s a great learning experience for us.”
Arapahoe (2-3) suffered its own inconsistencies and let the Bruins off the ropes several times. But that went down about as easily as a fistful of marbles, as the Warriors overcame large deficits in nearly every game.
“That’s something we’ve really worked on this year, to battle and never quit and keep fighting for each point,” Arapahoe coach Cara Syers said.
The Warriors got seven kills apiece from Tara Schwein, Megan Kazakoff and Rachel Stemper. Schwein had a team- best three blocks.
The teams battled closely in the first game until the Bruins broke a 20-20 tie and rattled off three consecutive points behind three hitting errors by the Warriors. Quayle’s smash off a quick set by Carolynn Blauman sealed the 25-21 win.
Arapahoe trailed 8-3 in the second game but the teams again were deadlocked 20-20. The Warriors were on the verge at 24-21 but were helpless to stop the Bruins, who clawed back to tie the game and eventually win 28-26.
