LA JARA — Centauri hosted neighbor Sanford Tuesday for a volleyball match. The host Falcons were victorious taking all three sets by scores of 25-20, 25-21 and 25-17.

The Falcons (10-8) have been contending with the likes of Alamosa and Bayfield from within the competitive Intermountain League (IML). Centauri has suffered a sweep from Alamosa (20-3) and earned a split with Bayfield (13-4), the top two teams in the IML. Since downing Montezuma-Cortez on Oct. 12th,  the Falcons have been sliding the wrong direction with two straight losses.

The game on Tuesday, against a lower-class opponent, afforded Centauri a chance to get back in the ‘W’ column.

Sanford (7-8) has had their own struggles with the IML. In early October Sanford matched up with a highly ranked Alamosa team and suffered a 3-0 defeat leading into a late-October meeting with Centauri.

Tuesday night, all three sets played tightly. In the first chapter, two 4-point runs gave visiting Sanford a 10-4 lead. The Falcons would take the lead midway through the set up 15-13. The home team would nurture that lead down the stretch to claim the win in set 1 by a 25-20 score.

In set two, it was Centauri that would take an early lead going up 15-9. Learning from past mistakes Centauri did not let go of the lead despite a Sanford 6-point run late featuring back-to-back kills from Abbey Sittler. A 25-21 win in set 2 put the Falcons in a strong position to end things, which they did taking a 25-17 win to end the match at 3-0. The win ends a 2-game losing streak for Centauri.

Before the win goes in the Falcons held the No. 22 spot in the Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) rankings, within the requirement to extend their season to regionals. The Falcons will seek to continue bettering their position with a match at Gunnison on Oct. 29 and a Buena Vista Tournament the weekend of Nov. 2nd. Sanford is also in a good position to extend their season holding the No. 24th spot in the RPI rankings before the loss gets added. Things will lighten a little for Sanford Oct. 24th they will go on the road to face Center (1-18).