Volleyball Game Preview: Palo Verde Panthers vs. Centennial Bulldogs

The Palo Verde Panthers will take on the Centennial Bulldogs at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Both come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

Palo Verde is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Nevada's top teams: Desert Oasis, who was ranked 15th at the time (Palo Verde was ranked third). The Panthers blew past the Diamondbacks 3-0 on Thursday. The victory continues a trend for the Panthers in their matchups with the Diamondbacks: they've now won four in a row.

While Palo Verde won a shutout, things came down to the wire in the second set they played. The final score came out to 25-20, 26-24, 25-12.

Jagger Mendenhall

Assists

04/24/25 @ Desert Oasis	20
04/22/25 vs Arbor View	17
04/16/25 vs Coronado	22

Palo Verde's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Jagger Mendenhall led the charge by getting 20 assists and five digs. That's the most assists Mendenhall has posted over his last three contests. Ben Fife was another key player, getting five aces and four digs.

Meanwhile, Centennial had already won two in a row and they went ahead and made it three on Thursday. They came out on top against the Gators by a score of 3-1.

While Centennial might've won, it sure wasn't easy: Green Valley scored at least 22 points in every set they played. The match finished with set scores of 28-26, 25-22, 25-27, 25-22.

Palo Verde's win bumped their record up to 15-8. As for Centennial, their victory was their fifth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 25-9.

Palo Verde beat Centennial 3-1 in their previous matchup back in May of 2024. Will the Panthers repeat their success, or do the Bulldogs have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.