LA JARA – The annual battle of north Conejos County featured two teams ranked by the Colorado High School Activities Association as Centauri High School, ranked sixth in Class 3A, hosted Sanford, the fourth-ranked team in Class 2A Thursday at the CHS gym.

The match lived up to expectations with the Falcons defeating the Mustangs in three sets. The scores were 25-15, 25-19 and 25-23.

“We knew it was going to be a very tough game,” said Centauri coach Eddie Chacon. “Sanford is a big rivalry that goes way back when. We’re right next to each other and we know how good they are. Melissa is a very good coach and has been doing a lot of good things there. We knew we were going to have to work hard, but we’ve been challenged. We’ve played a lot of tough teams early and this is where we want to be right now.”

“We did not play well, but it was a good game,” said Sanford coach Melissa Faucette.

Centauri scored the first point of the first set, but Sanford responded with five points in a row including two service aces by Rose Schwartz. The Falcons pulled within 5-4 and then the teams traded side outs before Centauri tied the score at 8-8.

The teams again exchanged side outs before the Falcons went on a 4-1 rally to take a 13-11 lead. They increased the lead to 16-12 before the Mustangs closed to within 16-14.

Centauri finished strong by scoring nine of the final 10 points for a 25-15 win.

Sanford opened the second set by scoring the first point. The teams traded side outs before the Mustangs scored three consecutive points for a 6-3 edge.

Centauri reduced its deficit to 8-7, but Sanford scored three in a row for an 11-7 advantage.

The Falcons then went on an 8-2 run to take the lead at 17-14. The Mustangs responded with four unanswered points for an 18-17 lead.

Once again, Centauri finished strong by scoring eight of the final nine points to take a 25-19 win.

The Falcons scored the first three points of the third set and had a 5-3 lead before the Mustangs had a 9-3 rally to take an 11-8 edge.

Centauri answered with a 9-1 run to regain the lead at 17-12.

The Falcons led 20-15 before the Mustangs came back with a 10-5 run for a 23-22 lead. However, a service error gave the side out back to Centauri and a hitting error gave the Falcons a 24-23 lead. Kynlei Curtis then slammed a kill for the final point and a 25-23 win.

Kenadie Wilfong led the Centauri offense with 28 assists. Curtis and Kimbry Wilfong led the hitting game with nine kills apiece, followed by Mikasa Gilleland with seven and Kenadie Wilfong with five.

Curtis had the Falcons’ only service ace.

Avery Koenig was Sanford’s offensive leader with 20 assists. Claire Crowther and Bella Peterson led in kills with eight apiece.

The Mustangs had seven aces. Koenig led with four, followed by Schwartz with two and Brinlyn Smith with one.

Centauri (10-4, 2-2) hpsted Colorado Springs Christian on Friday. It will next host top-ranked Alamosa on Tuesday.

“We’re excited about that and having them at our house,” Chacon said. “Hopefully, we’ll have a big turnout like we had tonight and a lot of energy. Every time I see Alamosa play, they’re getting better and better. They’re a well-oiled machine with a lot of good players and they’re well-coached. We’re going to come out here and keep working on the things we’re working on. We’ve designed a game plan against them we hope works. They’re tough, but we’re going to show them we can be tough too.”

Sanford (10-1, 4-0) will return to league play on Saturday as it will travel to Center.

“We’ll make some adjustments and fix some things,” Faucette said. “We’ll be alright.”