Millennium seemed lost at first but found its way while navigating through new territory.

The Tigers moved down to the 5A Conference this season with a well-equipped team. But that talent fell behind by eight points in the first game before turning it on to sweep visiting Sunrise Mountain, 25-21, 25-19, 25-18, in its 2018 campaign opener.

“All three of our levels came out a little bit sluggish (Tuesday),” Millennium’s coach Julie Vastine said. “Some new varsity kids started, and our serve receive was not on par.”

Blame it also on some first match jitters.

Sunrise Mountain on the other hand came ready to play. It jumped out to a 7-0 advantage in the first game as Payton Harmann kept picking on the left side of Millennium’s rotation.

Sunrise Mountain held leads of 14-6 and 16-9 in Game 1 before Millennium took over. Defense sparked the rally, beginning with a block and one of senior Ashley Antoniak's seven kills. 

The Citadel commit Makaya Middleton also made her presence felt with her first powerful blast from the right side. The lefty also tallied seven kills.

But it was Millennium’s back row that really held things together in the first game, specifically libero Nicole Hoff and Kylie Waters. A dig by Hoff on a ball that came close to landing eventually led to a Sunrise Mountain hitting error, allowing Millennium to go up for the first time, 21-20.

Hoff helped finish off the game with another dig and an ace.

“I just always play my heart out and go for every ball I can even if I’m not near it and try to make a hustle play for it,” Hoff said.

The Long Beach State-bound senior finished with a team-high 13 digs.

(Nicole Huff)

Senior middle blocker Sedona Sherman made sure her team got off to a quick start in Game 2 against a Sunrise Mountain team that also featured a couple of formidable threats in the middle. Millennium’s first six points in the second stanza were delivered by either a kill, block or ace by Sherman.

Sherman closed out the second game with one of her six skills. Millennium trailed 2-0 to open the final game before seizing control. 

A moment of silence was held before the match to honor Arizona Senator John McCain, who passed away on Saturday.