By Caio Miari and Marcus Rebelo 

The Centennial Colts women's volleyball team failed to complete what initially looked like a winning day at Progress Campus, falling 3-1 (25-19, 18-25, 20-25, 21-25) to the La Cite Coyotes in the team's home opener on Friday. 

The Colts (0-2) kicked off the match with a dominant first set, in which they put together all their pre-game preparation.

"First set was strong and we executed everything we talked about in practice and the game plan," said Centennial's assistant head coach Everest Fabro-Valdez, in his post-game availability. "During the first set we realized some of La Cite's flaws in the game film. We were mixing up our shots well."

But the home team wasn't able to keep the momentum throughout the evening.

"They (La Cite) picked up on it and adjusted and we didn't respond to that," he said. "The rest of the game that execution wasn't there and you can tell that experience played a factor in that." 

Two players scored in double-digit figures for the Colts — Stella Dada (tied a game-high 13 points) and Jada Bradford (11) —, while Sara Makouk was the only Coyote to reach that mark with 13.

First-year setter Coco Solomon led Centennial — and the match — with 15 assists while Shinelle Waite topped first-year players in points with five. 

Along with the scoring contribution, second-year Dada added 17 digs, also a game-high. According to Fabro-Valdez, the left side hitter's contribution on the court goes beyond her offensive and defensive production. 

"Her serve was really good; a lot of those runs were through her serve," Fabro-Valdez said. "She's a captain and she had to push aside her mistakes for the betterment of the team. I saw her do that a lot. It meant a lot for our team because they (other players) are so young and they look up to her." 

The Colts had 29 total errors as compared to the Coyotes' (1-1) 41. 

Despite the advantage mistakes-wise, La Cite's go-ahead runs in the match played a factor in the final result. The Coyotes had several runs in the game and Centennial wasn't able to overcome them. In one in particular, the Colts were down 15-7 in the third set, when head coach Adriana Bento called a timeout. 

The break played a factor, giving the home team a 9-1 run that tied the game at 16. 

"We need to work on that (controlling mistakes and holding momentum) because we can't always call a timeout," Fabro-Valdez said.

Seeking their first win of the season, the Colts will remain at home to face the Algonquin Thunder on Saturday, October 26 at 4 p.m.