Nobody likes losing, but the Century volleyball team takes defeat more personally than most.

"Even in the little drills, everyone always wants to win and always wants their team to win," senior setter Hailee Walsh said.

Sometimes a little too much.

"We have some really competitive kids," Century coach Jeni Walsh said. "They hate losing. They hate losing in practice. We have to watch some of the drills we run in practice, because at times they can get out of control. But when you turn that over to the match, that's a good thing."

That competitive streak has ensured that the Patriots haven't had to worry much about handling setbacks. The West Region champs have lost just one match to a North Dakota team all season - an opening-day setback to Grand Forks Red River.

The Patriots hope to keep that run intact as they travel to Minot for the state Class A tournament.

With Hailee Walsh, libero Erika Jossart and a trio of big hitters - Carli Peterson, Tricia Sorensen and Madi Buck - returning, Century was poised for a big season. The Patriots have not disappointed, becoming the first team since Williston in 2001 to post a perfect record in West Region play.

"I don't think we thought of that as a goal," Hailee Walsh said. "After the first time we played everyone, I was like, 'Wow, we could go undefeated.' "

The Patriots have won 22 of their last 23 matches. Three of their losses came in the Southwest Minnesota tournament early in the season. The other came to Billings Senior in the championship match of the Dickinson Invitational.

"We knew in the summer that we had something special, but to take it to this level has been incredible," coach Walsh said.

Hailee Walsh, who has was named the West Region senior athlete of the year, has helped keep things running smoothly for the Patriots.

"Hailee has had an incredible season, the setter on our team and the quarterback of our team," coach Walsh said. "She's been around volleyball all her life, and she's really making some smart decisions. We're getting some one-on-ones with our hitters, and she just sees the net really well."

Walsh has 978 assists and is poised to become the first Patriot to top the 1,000 mark since Kaylen Schneider in 2005. Walsh said having so many talented hitters makes her job easy.

"It's good, because you have a lot of options to go to," Walsh said. "You don't just have one hitter to go to. I have four or five outlets that you can always count on."

Coach Walsh said Hailee, her daughter, has made the most of all the firepower at her disposal.

"She's looking at who we have in the front row versus who is in the front row for the other team, if there are any blocking mismatches that she can work on," coach Walsh said. "She wants to find our hot hitter and see if she can use that kid. We want to make sure our hitters are running to the net and being quick and see if we can find some one-on-ones."

Hailee has also improved her serving. She added a jump serve near the end of last season, and put in the time to make it a more effective weapon.

"She's got an aggressive serve, but she really worked on it over the summer," coach Walsh said. "She's serving at almost 90 percent right now, and still with a good ace-to-error ratio. That's part of her game that she really picked up."

The Patriots have played in three of the last six state championship matches, but Century hasn't won a title since 1984, in the first sanctioned state tournament. The Patriots are hoping to focus their competitive streak for one more weekend and make this their year.

"We have to not get frustrated and stay positive all the time," Hailee Walsh said. "… Hopefully we'll do the best we can."