Two matches in one weekend felt good to the Durango High School volleyball team, as it took down its second Grand Junction school in as many days Saturday in front of a home crowd, winning by a score of 3-1.
Durango (8-7, 2-4 Class 4A/5A Southwestern League) took on Grand Junction Central (3-11, 1-3 SWL) after beating Grand Junction on Friday night to wrap up a victorious homecoming weekend.
The Demons were on a roll early and often, as they had fun beating the Warriors 25-13, 22-25, 25-20 and 26-24.
“It feels good, it was a fun weekend after a fun week,” Durango head coach Colleen Vogt said. “It was nice to play the way we’re capable of. We just knew we could play a little crisper and more sound; it was a matter of execution.”
Durango started the match on fire by going up 11-4 in the first set. The Demons were in control early with composure to keep the lead throughout the set and pushed the lead to 22-10 at one point.
“I thought our defense played well,” Vogt said. “Our pass attack was really fun; our kids are so athletic, they’re flying all over the court. When they do that, it’s really fun to watch.”
The second set was much more competitive with eight lead changes. Down 23-22 with Durango serving, the Demons couldn’t contain the Warriors and lost the second set.
After two sets of play, Durango needed to dig deep in the third set if it wanted to win the match.
With friendly bounces going their way and opportunistic hits, the Demons jumped out to a 7-0 lead. After the Warrriors called a time out, Grand Junction Central regained its focus and went on a run of its own and pushed the score to 13-8 in favor of Durango.
The two sides traded blows, and the lead dwindled to a 13-11 Durango lead before the Demons needed a time out to recover. After the time out, Durango went on a 5-1 run and finished off Grand Junction Central.
“We just talked about how we know what the goal is, so we just have to keep the ball off the floor and stay motivated and come together,” Vogt said about the crucial time out near the end of the third set. “Volleyball is a game of such ups and downs that we kind of have to take control. They did a good job at that.”
After leading throughout most of the fourth set, Durango let the lead slip away when Grand Junction Central took a 12-11 advantage. And like the second set of the match, the game went back-and-forth producing four lead changes.
The Demons found themselves down 24-23 when miscommunication led to unforced errors on Durango’s side; however, the Demons battled back valiantly in the last part of the set to take the set and match with a 26-24 win.
Durango senior Lia Henriksen finished the game with 12 kills, but none were more impressive than the last three she recorded, which turned out to be the difference.
“We couldn’t have done it without some of the perfect passes,” said Henriksen, daughter of Gordon Henriksen and Lissa Paak. “It all starts with the pass and that made it easy for us.”
Even though the league season has seen more downs than ups, the Demons now have a winning record at 8-7. Durango should feel vindicated as it lost earlier to both Grand Junction, 3-0, and Grand Junction Central, 3-1.
“We’ve been struggling for the past couple of games, and to be able to redeem ourselves is great,” Henriksen said. “Two games in one weekend feels really good.”
Durango senior Addison Swift recorded 47 assists and seven digs, and fellow senior Maddie Robertson had 23 kills and 12 digs in the match.
Another DHS senior, Lauren Morrissey, had 21 digs, and senior Leah Stephens had 13 digs. Senior Sarah Waller rounded the game out with 10 kills. Homecoming queen and senior Ellie Gervais had six kills.
The Durango Demons will be at home for the remaining two games of the year with matches against Montrose at 6:30 p.m. Friday, and against Fruita Monument for senior night at 11:30 a.m. Saturday.
jmentzer@durangoherald.com
