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Centennial’s Alexie Stiles (2) drives home a kill between the block attempts of Santa Fe’s Jorja Chambers (12) and Sydney Pino-Pacheco. The Hawks swept their way to the 5A title. (Jim Thompson/Albuquerque Journal)
First it was a dink and dunk show, then the thunder boomers took over.
The result was a quick, 25-14, 25-20, 25-9 Centennial sweep Saturday over top-seeded Santa Fe in the Class 5A state volleyball championship game at the Pit
Coach Al Rosen’s final instructions to his second-seeded Hawks may have backhandedly and inadvertently paved the way to victory.
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“The first thing I did tell them, ‘You’re going to be nervous; let’s keep it in play,’ ” he said. “Then I thought about it and maybe that wasn’t the best instructions because by keep it in play, now they’re trying to be careful. I should have just said, ‘Go for it.’ ”