Falcons can’t come up with regional win

LA JARA— Centauri put up a fight but came short in regionals dropping both games in their pool 2-3 to St. Mary’s and 1-3 to Platte Valley.
On Friday afternoon people crowded into the Centauri Middle School to watch their touted Falcons face off against some of the talent that Colorado has to offer- Platte County and St. Mary’s High School.
With their number 6 seed Centauri was the favorite to take the tri against number 21 and 31 seeded teams. First up was St. Mary’s, Centauri battled but the first set went to the Pirates in a nail biter they dropped 23-25.
The Falcons came out angry in the second and put together a 9-point run and staved off a comeback to close out the second set 25-17. Similar control carried into the third set with a six-point run that culminated in Centauri controlling things two sets to one going into the fourth set.
The Falcons couldn’t piece together the scoring runs like they had in the last two sets and allowed the Pirates to even things up at 2 sets apiece.
In the final set the two teams raced to 15. After the Pirates beat them to the match point the Falcons strung together 3 points to make it 13-14, but their side out closed out the first match 3-2. The Falcons were stunned, 0-1 thus far in the pool. That was Centauri’s first loss of the season. In matches like this one loss can seem to be all it takes as most teams that advance to state carry a 2-0 record from regionals.But the Falcons weren’t grounded just yet, they could still force a three-way tie and then keep the night going with tiebreakers. They would just need a little help in the form of Platte Valley defeating St. Mary’s in game 2 of the day.  
Platte Valley did just that, three sets to one. And just like that Centauri’s destiny was in their own hands, all they needed to do was take down Platte Valley and all three teams would share a 1-1 record and more volleyball would need to be played.
Things looked encouraging when the Falcons took the first set 25-21. But they couldn’t keep it going and lost the remaining three sets ending their night 1 set to 3 and effectively their season.  The only blemishes on their record came at the worst possible time. Platte Valley will be going to state as the 2-0 team from this pool.
Centauri put together a very strong season and gave a valiant effort at regionals. They can keep their heads high knowing they played hard and left it on the court.
Look for the Centauri Falcons again next season.