Millennium dominates Sunnyslope
Goodyear school claims 1st girls volleyball crown
As Goodyear Millennium was looking for its first state championship in volleyball ever, No. 1 Phoenix Sunnyslope was looking to win its seventh state championship and repeat in back to back years.
“I really had to tell (the team) that none of the opinions matter, how people rank us (doesn’t) matter,” Millennium coach Julie Vastine said. “How we perform matters.”
Millennium blocked Sunnyslope’s shot to the repeat as the Tigers swept the Vikings in three sets.
The Tigers’ strong defense was led by Millennium’s middle blocker Sedona Sherman who helped the team double Sunnyslope’s blocks 8 to 4.
“It’s great to be a part of (the first state championship team) and bring that back to our school is a great feeling,” Sherman said.
Pair Sedona’s defense with Ashley Antoniak’s team high 11 kills on offense and there was no way Millennium could be stopped. The Tiger’s play lookedstrong as they won the first two sets 2518.
While Sunnsylope was pushing back with everything it had in the final set, Millennium couldn’t have finished the year off stronger.
As the Vikings had it all tied up at 18, they were looking to take the set third set and regain some momentum for a comeback.
Millennium had a different idea though as it responded with six unanswered points as the Tigers ended up winning the set 25-19.
Even though Millennium had one loss earlier in the season that ruined what could have been a perfect season, the players believe the tough competition on its schedule led them to this ultimate goal.
“It feels great,” Millennium’s middle blocker Sherman Sedona said. “We’ve been training so hard all season, and playing against the best teams in the country to finally win a championship after coming so close every year feels great.”
Even though the team was hyped up and jamming out on the way to the game, the players knew how significant this match would be.
“When we got here they were very focused,” Vastine said. “They knew what was on the line and how important it was.”
That focus helped the Tigers finish off all three sets dominantly to dethrone the reigning champs.
“It’s amazing,” Sedona said. “We’ve trained so hard every single year but this year it’s just like everything fell into place.”
6A champion crowned
The 6A final between Phoenix Xavier and Tempe Corona del Sol was also decided at Wells Fargo Arena on Wednesday but the match ended too late for this edition of The Arizona Republic.
Go to highschools.azcentral.com to read the recap and view photos from the final.