Grace Stevens is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism Student assigned to cover Centennial High School for AZpreps365.com.

The Centennial Coyotes faced the Apollo Eagles in a match Thursday night that led the Coyotes to victory in a 3-0 sweep. The 5A team is now on a season comeback after having lost three matches in a row.

The match was held at Apollo High School, so the Coyotes were not on familiar ground when they won the sets. They won the first set 25-10, the second set 25-18 and the third set 25-13. The game was filled with a number of kills and digs from each player.

The Coyotes team bond is something that radiates throughout the gym while they are playing. They have chemistry like no other, and according to senior Laila Lee, it is something that is viable for a team victory.

“We play our best when we’re having fun,” Lee said. “And in this game, we had a lot of fun, which is why we did so well.”

Coyotes coach Becca Ellis described the team as overall doing “well” so far this season. She talked about how they have faced challenges with adapting to everything with COVID-19. 

“We have to learn to be available in any position this season,” Ellis said. She proceeded to say how her team has many strengths, one of them being how athletic her team is.

“We're always able to train girls and put them in different positions,” Ellis said.

That tactic came in handy on Thursday when Apollo was running away with a lead, and the Coyotes were having trouble siding out. So in order to fix it, Ellis substituted one of her players to break the serve.

Having a strategy like that to help the team get ahead and lead to victory is crucial in the game. But the other key strategy to the game is having fun and having a true team connection, and that is something that the Coyotes share. 

Whether they are on the court or off the court, they seem to always have good attitudes and treat each other with kindness, which is why it becomes so enjoyable for them to play on the court together. 

Sometimes it can be hard especially when trying to side out, but each and every Coyote player is always determined to get the win.

Ellis emphasized how this season they have been training every player for multiple positions, which is very important especially in the times of COVID-19. If one of the players is unable to participate, then Ellis needs to be ready to put in a backup at any time. So it is very important that they are ready at all times, in case something happens. 

When asked about team weaknesses, Ellis explained how sometimes the Coyotes can be inconsistent in serve receive. “That’s always a weakness for a lot of teams in general,” Ellis said. 

Overall the Coyotes played a fantastic match on Thursday and they are looking forward to all of the upcoming games. Their next game is scheduled to be on Oct. 5 at Centennial High School against Raymond S. Kellis.