MESA COUNTY – Seeing her squad squander a 10-point lead Saturday certainly didn’t please Terene Foutz.
But Bayfield volleyball’s longtime leader really didn’t express disappointment as the Lady Wolverines, having just witnessed Palisade sophomore Kyra Birch leave her season-opener with a knee injury, built a 10-point lead and nearly knot the nonleague match at one game apiece.
BHS was attempting to atone for the previous evening’s 25-14, 25-23 and 25-16 letdown at nonleague 3A Delta. Bayfield ended up falling to Palisade 25-23, 32-30 (in which Bayfield led 20-10 before PHS drew level at 24), and 25-19, but it was more the sort of effort, if not result, Foutz wants to see in 2022.
“Honestly, that’s the best I’ve seen them play; they’re learning to give up their fear and be more aggressive,” Foutz said. “You know, we don’t have the ‘seasoned’ returners. ... But they’re doing the work.”
“We fell short … but I think we did really good pushing hard,” said senior Bailey Martinez, one of two Lady Wolverines looking to replace graduated setter Sage Killough.
“We are coming together,” she said. “We had really good energy today, and I think that helped us to push points.”
Entering the match as the top “Others Receiving Votes” crew in the CHSAANow.com Class 4A poll, the Lady Bulldogs (1-0, 0-0 4A Western Slope) dashed out to a 7-2 lead in Game 1, before four miscues allowed Bayfield to tie at 14-14. Able to win seven of the next nine points, forcing Foutz to call a timeout, Palisade reached game point at 24-20.
BHS senior middle Kenasea Byrd kept BHS alive with a scoring tip shot, and Birch then surrendered another point by netting an attack – and landing awkwardly. After her exit, substitute Mikaela Buxton spiked a ball out of bounds, pressing MacAskill to call time with the visitors trailing 24-23.
Lady Wolverine sophomore Christiana Sutherlin, primarily a JV regular/varsity reserve last fall, then sailed an attack out of play, permitting PHS to claim the first verse.
Able to pressure Palisade in Game 2, Bayfield’s truest colors finally showed in the form of a Martinez service ace followed by a hard kill from senior K’Lee Stuffelbeam-Jolly, putting the Lady Wolverines (1-2, 0-0 3A Intermountain) up 7-5. The Bulldogs would equalize, but after a Kaydence Hunter kill and an unreturnable Stuffelbeam-Jolly serve, BHS booked nine of the next 11 points.
But incredibly, operating with no timeouts left, coach Wendy MacAskill and the home team rallied all the way back to force extra points after libero Ava Walitt aced BHS senior Kody Rey, and Martinez was then whistled for a lift on a set attempt.
Her next try was perfect for Byrd to bash on the quick, but PHS answered in turn. The sides would continue to swap points all the way to 30-30, after Bayfield setter Tanna Owens floated a serve, offsetting teammate Allia Connell’s go-ahead kill just moments before. Taking full advantage, PHS re-earned game point, 31-30, via a Bayfield double-contact infraction, and completed the comeback when Stuffelbeam-Jolly misplayed a pass near the net.
“I thought it was a ‘great’ loss for us because the kids were very aggressive,” Foutz said. “I thought they played great defense and it was a good battle; that’s what it’s all about for us.
“We’ve just got to learn from each other,” said Stuffelbeam-Jolly, “but we’ll always make it work.”
“We lost a lot of fear today,” she added. “Just swung away and got our confidence up.”
And it showed early in Game 3, as the Lady Wolverines – at the time ranked No. 8 in 3A – bolted out to an 8-2 lead triggered by a Connell kill and highlighted by an ace through the net courtesy of senior libero Myrah Abdallah-Boehm. Back-to-back Lauren Hardin aces, however, not only tied the score at 11-all, but showed the Lady ’Dogs still had plenty of bite; after regaining the upper hand at 13-12, PHS never let BHS forge ahead again.
“Well I thought we put in a great performance,” Foutz said. “We really have to focus on minimizing our unforced errors, minimizing (opponents’) point runs when we ourselves have the ball. But I thought it was a great match, and we’re better for having played this match.”
Unofficially, Bulldog sophomore Addie Ritterbush put down 13 kills, senior Ella Steele distributed 15 assists and also came up with 16 digs while Walitt was credited with 12 digs in the sweep.
Stuffelbeam-Jolly posted a .500 kill efficiency and Byrd a .352 mark (exact kill counts were unavailable) as Owens logged a team-high 12 assists. Leading the defensive resistance, Abdallah-Boehm came up with a vital 24 digs.
Up next, the Lady Wolverines were scheduled to host Durango (1-0, 0-0 4A/5A Southwestern) Tuesday as this paper was going to press.
“It’s been a good journey,” Foutz said of BHS’ season-opening, three-match away stretch, “and a good start … but we’re looking forward to playing at home and being around our people.”
“Knowing that we can push against harder teams – 4A teams – like this,” said Martinez, “I think we’ll try mirroring our energy and our play.”
