Millennium's smooth transition to Class 5A-II hit a speed bump Thursday night against visiting Phoenix St. Mary's.
St. Mary's rallied from a 2-0 deficit to a post a five-set triumph.
Millennium (2-2) built the 2-0 lead on the strength of 26-24 and 25-9 wins in the first two games. The Lady Tigers were poised to put away St. Mary's when they tied the third game 18-18 and seemed to have some momentum. However, the Lady Knights staged a late comeback and won 25-23.
Buoyed by the win, the inexperienced Lady Knights, only two players return from last year, went on to win the final two games, 25-23 and 15-11.
"When you are up 2-0, you should be able to put away the opponent," Millennium coach Richie Tang said. "You need to put the throttle down. We haven't been doing that. It is disappointing."
With a lineup that is minus two starters - Erin Truett and Britahn Newbill - because of injuries, the Lady Tigers are still searching for greater cohesion.
"We are still learning to trust each other," Tang said. "It will come. We are a talented team but we make too many mental errors. We're getting better."
Lack of communication was also a problem against the Lady Knights. On four occasions, a bumped ball fell among a crowd of Millennium players as no one stepped up to make a play.
"We've got to talk," Tang said.
Good start of Millennium
The match started promisingly for Millennium as St. Mary's did its best to give away the game, handing the home team seven points on missed serves.
"We've got to take advantage of those gifts," Tang said.
Millennium trailed 22-20 but went on a late 5-1 run to secure the win. The final point came on an Ana Caballero ace. She had been inserted into the game for that serve.
The Lady Tigers rolled to an easy victory in the second set behind Brandy Adams' three kills. She finished the match with eight, and added four blocks.
St. Mary's held narrow leads through most of the third contest but Millennium tied the score at 18 on a Taylor Hamlet kill. However, the Lady Knights managed to regain the impetus and salted away the win when setter Samantha Lopez found an open spot in the Millennium defense and dinked in the ball, giving the visitors new life.
The fourth set also was close with neither team enjoying more than a four-point advantage.
St. Mary's managed to eke out the 25-23 win on the strength of six kills from Sarah Laird, who finished with 18.
It appeared as though Millennium had gotten back on track in the deciding game, jumping to a quick 3-0 lead, with Danielle Coates getting two of the points on a block and kill.
Undaunted, St. Mary's tied the game 3-3 and then moved out to an 8-4 lead and was never headed.
In addition to Adams, Jennifer Anderson played a solid match, coming up with 20 assists and 10 digs.
Laird's 18 kills for the Lady Knights were supported by Keanna Lomeli's six. She also had three aces.
"Hopefully we can take something from this loss," Tang said. "We should have won. We should be 3-1 rather than 2-2."
Millennium will get a chance to show what it learned from the tough loss when it plays at Chandler Hamilton at 6 tonight. The Lady Tigers will then play at Laveen Cesar Chavez on Sept. 18.
Mike Russo can be reached by e-mail at mrusso@westvalleyview.com.
