Centennial tops Pocatello in finals of Peg Peterson Invitational gold bracket
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POCATELLO — Over the course of 27 hours and six matches, the Pocatello Thunder proved to themselves and the state that they are, once again, a force to be reckoned with in 5A volleyball.
They learned their own lesson Saturday evening, though: that, at least this time around, the Centennial Patriots, behind Washington State University-commit Eliana Ti’a, were just a bit better.
Pocatello and Centennial met twice during the second day of the Peg Peterson Invitational volleyball tournament at Pocatello’s Mountain View Event Center, the second of which decided the tournament’s gold bracket winner. And the Patriots came out on top both times.
Before their first match, Pocatello head coach Paige Leatham referred to her team’s competition as “the big boys.”
While she was gunning for a first-place finish, Leatham was pleased with the effort and fight her team showed through the two-day tournament.
“I think, finishing second place out of 28 team is a great first tournament, and there’s only room for improvement,” Leatham said.
During a recent practice, Leatham said that her team, coming off a third-place finish at State, needed to find rhythym with new setter junior Josie Haymore.
“We really found a rhythym here,” she said Saturday. “We were getting into system, we were super-gritty on defense and we can smash a ball.”
Pocatello mowed through the competition, beating local rivals Century and Highland to set up an undefeated showdown with Centennial in the quarter finals.
Their loss to Centennial meant Pocatello would have to face the winner of Highland-Rigby, which ended up being Highland.
The Rams, who finished 7-8 last season after a 5-0 start, suffered their only losses to Pocatello before bowing out.
First-year Highland head coach Tana Homer said she learned a lot from her team.
“They’re going to work, and they’re going to fight,” she said. “Before coming in (to the tournament), some of them mentioned that they are not used to a winning mentality.”
Homer said she is excited to breathe some competitive fire into the squad, adding that they now know that they are there to compete and that they are more than capable of doing so.
Both Homer and Leatham spoke to the toll, both physical and mental, a tournament like the Peg Peterson presents.
Leatham said that, after playing two placement matches Friday, her team played from 8 a.m. until 6 p.m. Saturday. In order to overcome that fatigue, she added, the players must play for the girl next to them.
Homer said the Peg Peterson schedule is “exhausting,” particularly this early in the season, when the players’ bodies aren’t ready to jump and swing their arms as often as they are asked to do.
The key to remaining competitive, she added, is staying “mentally in it” every play, even when you’re “physically exhausted.”
Highland leaves the tournament with a third-place finish and the understanding that they can compete and win. Homer said that she expects the girls to bring that newfound attitude to practice and work on the things their coaching staff identified as needing that work.
The Rams, she said, are “in it to win it together.”
Leatham is excited for her team’s first regular-season match against Skyview.
“We’re going to come out hot on Thursday,” she said. “I think we gained a lot of confidence and trust within our team and I am so excited to see how we’re going to go into districts and the regular season.”