Millennium completes ‘comeback season,’ roars past Cactus Shadows for 5A volleyball crown

By Brittany Bowyer | Photos by Will Edmonds

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GILBERT — The Millennium Tigers are the 2020 5A volleyball state champions after sweeping Cactus Shadows in three sets in the state final at Mesquite High School.

All season, the Tigers played with vengeance after a heartbreaking loss in last year’s 5A title match. Saturday, they learned just how sweet this victory is.

“After what we went through last year, it was definitely comeback season for us, and it feels so good to come out on top,” senior Jordan Miller said.

It was a grudge match in more ways than one, as the Tigers also were looking to show how much they’ve improved since dropping their season-opener to the Falcons, 3-2.

“We wanted to go out there and show that we were a completely different team from the beginning of the season,” sophomore Eryn Jones said. “We have such a young team and so many assets to the team, and we wanted to show that we have grown so much.”

Tigers coach Julie Vastine considered this a rebuilding season for the Tigers, but you’d never know it by their ferocity on the court. Millennium has a young squad with four freshmen and three sophomores, but they’ve quickly learned the culture of the program and what they need to do to succeed.

“It’s so awesome because it doesn’t feel like it’s all on one person,” Miller said. “We’re all fighting for the same goal and we’re all contributing. Even the people on the bench are really helping, cheering us on, keeping us mentally in the game.”

It’s been a long road that’s been lined with hard work toward improvement each day at practice, but the seniors showed why it’s all worth it when they lifted the Tigers to victory to go out on top.

“This group of seniors is so invested,” Vastine said. “What they left on our program, I can’t even repay them. They’ve helped so much to keep building, because the (younger) girls were hungry to be like them, and they’ve been so inclusive.

“This really is a great group of seniors.”

The first set started as a back-and-forth battle before some big-time plays helped Millennium pull out to a slight lead. With an outstanding performance by Miller, the Tigers put away Cactus Shadows and took the first set, 25-22.

The Falcons looked like they might have found some wind to set soar in the second set. They held a lead for a long stretch early, and even after Millennium gained a slight advantage, Cactus Shadows tied it at 13-13.

That’s when things started to change for the Falcons, as Jones and Miller began attacking the court, finding holes and putting the ball down for kills. Millennium closed it with an ace by senior Olivia Flanagan, winning the second set, 25-17.

.@MillenniumVball takes set 2, running away with things at the end 25-17! Here’s the set point. The Tigers lead the Falcons 2-0. Falcons now are in a must-win situation. pic.twitter.com/rJsBTIxDYY
— Brittany Bowyer (@LittWithBritt) November 21, 2020

“We talked about their attackers so much, but when all of them are on, there’s nothing we can do,” Cactus Shadows coach Chris Brown said.

In the third set, Millennium jumped out to a 5-0 lead, but the Falcons battled back and tied it at 10-10. Jones and Miller, however, continued to work as a dynamic duo and put Millennium on top 21-17, forcing Cactus Shadows to call a timeout.

“I had to keep reminding them we had to stay hungry for it and we can’t get comfortable, because we play a couple sets and get comfortable, but then we’ve gotta go fight,” Vastine said.

Added Jones: “I think we really took those nerves and anxiety, corralled it and turned it into positive energy.”

With extreme focus, the Tigers took the third set, 25-20, clinching the victory with a kill from Miller. For her, it was a bittersweet moment cementing her four-year mark on the program.

“It just feels so great, especially after all the hard work that we’ve put in this season,” Miller said. “Being able to bring that legacy with you a couple years and hopefully into many more, it’s really awesome because it builds a program.”

SENIOR JORDAN MILLER PUTS IT DOWN! @MillenniumVball sweeps Cactus Shadows, taking set 3 25-20! pic.twitter.com/doJ9NtUTRo
— Brittany Bowyer (@LittWithBritt) November 21, 2020

Miller finished with three aces and 12 kills. Jones had two aces and 16 kills.

In a year in which nothing was guaranteed from day to day, it was an incredibly gratifying moment.

“It’s crazy. We obviously have so much gratitude for the AIA for really fighting for this season, letting us be here and allowing us to play,” Jones said.

“This year has been so crazy, and just that we’re here in this moment, we’ve brought some good out of this year because it’s been rough.”

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