Ever wonder the importance of a team's support structure?
With a good number of Wolverine soccer players, still stoked by blanking the 5A Bloomfield JV 8-0 on the road the previous afternoon, rooting them on - or razzing the enemy - from seats just behind the bench inside Montezuma-Cortez High School's gym, a bitter loss to Intermountain League rival Centauri on Saturday didn't follow Bayfield Volleyball into their subsequent test against M-CHS.
"We love them so much, we talk about it all the time - our soccer boys are, like, amazing," said senior Sydney Gabbard. "I was surprised that they stayed for the Cortez match, and the fact that they were still cheering and everything was amazing. Even though we did lose, I think we improved so much as a team."
The Panthers discovered that almost immediately as the Wolverines' biggest problem in a 25-13, 25-15, 25-20 sweep became simple fatigue. Polished off by a Jannika Pope ace and resounding Kylee McCoy kill, BHS' swift Game 1 win led to a 24-9 lead in Game 2 after a Gabbard ace.
But starting with a kill by senior Tyra Pinnecoose, Montezuma-Cortez (6-12, 2-8 IML) crept back to 24-15, helped by four Bayfield hitting errors, before a Panther middle strayed too far underneath the net during an exchange, warranting the decisive whistle.
Looking to build some momentum before hosting regional arch-nemesis 4A Durango on Tuesday, Oct. 17, Cortez built up a 9-5 lead early in Game 3 via a kill by freshman libero Amber Wood after a highlight-reel Pinnecoose dig.
But after freshman Devon McHenry landed an ace, upping the advantage to 14-10, Bayfield went on a 7-0 spree with McCoy serving, and an unplayable offering during that run put the Wolverines ahead for good at 15-14.
"We were still getting good kills, but it was nice to not feel that stress of 'We have to win right now!'" Gabbard said. "To get serving runs and everything, it was a fun match. Kind of slow, but fun."
After one last McCoy blast put BHS on match point, McHenry then brought the event to a close by netting the final attack, improving Bayfield's record to 11-6 overall, 7-2 in league with only a Thursday trip to Pagosa Springs (10-8, 5-4) remaining.
"Every set matters, you know?" head coach Danica Frost said. "It's just one point at a time, one set at a time, getting our heads right and getting hungry."
"And it hurts to lose, but I'm not mad at our girls. It was a positive day."
Even from the standpoint of seeing 2012 BHS graduate Candace Shaw lead the Centauri Falcons to a perfect 10-0 IML finish by outlasting her alma mater 21-25, 27-25, 25-22, 25-22.
"It's not so much about who you're playing; it's the game and it's the girls, and it doesn't matter that it was against Bayfield," Shaw said. "It's different to be on the opposite side, but it's a good feeling."
"They were scrappy, we were scrappy, you know?" said Frost, "and I think we just got in our heads a little bit. Centauri's a smart team and, that was a nail-biter."
After taking the lead for good in Game 1 via a McCoy smash, Bayfield raced out to a 12-6 lead in Game 2 via an ace by sophomore Mavis Edwards. Centauri battled back to tie the score at 15 and 16, then again at 20 and 21 before it appeared the Wolverines would go up 2-0 in the match when sophomore Tess Phelps obliterated almost vertically a CHS overpass for a 23-21 lead.
Shaw quickly called timeout and the Falcons soon prevailed after a kill by junior Melissa Wilson, a kill by senior Ember Canty, and then a Canty stuff of BHS senior Courtney Bayles' attempted set dump.
"Overall, both teams came out fighting," Shaw said. "That's the beauty of volleyball...in general. It was a good match, hard-fought on both sides-it was a fun one!"
As well as a taxing one. The Wolverines' defensive totals were a strong indication of the La Jara ladies' resolve.
Besides having 15 kills to her name, McCoy came up with 21 digs, one more than junior libero Tymbree Florian and six more than Edwards (6 kills). Gabbard (6 kills) came up with a dozen and Bayles, who distributed 27 assists offensively, recorded 11.
On the net, Phelps made one solo block and assisted on seven others, while McCoy and senior Ashley Mottin (7 kills) each booked three and three.
However, BHS' 40 total kills were somewhat offset by 21 total errors, and Bayfield also logged 13 serve-reception errors against just seven aces before Centauri completed a comeback from a quick 9-3 deficit in Game 4 with Canty winning a joust against Bayles on match point.
"We had some good hits and they had some good hits, and in the end, both of us are super strong," said Canty, who out-jousted Bayles in the middle on match point. "I wish Bayfield the best in the rest of their season."
Against Montezuma-Cortez, Bayles had 25 assists as Edwards led BHS with nine kills and McCoy put down six. Gabbard (4 kills) came up with a team-best 10 digs and Phelps totaled seven (3s, 4a) blocks.
"Once we're ahead we kind of get comfortable while we're playing instead of having a sense of urgency," Gabbard said. "So I think today we learned that once we're ahead we need to finish."
"And capitalizing on their unforced errors," Frost added. "There were moments where they were giving us a lot you know, serving into the net - and we just didn't capitalize. We'd come up, crush a ball, then go and miss a serve. That is incredibly frustrating."
"We learned a lot on fundamentals," Gabbard agreed. "Made us better for the rest of the season."
Centauri rose from #7 to #4 in the revised CHSAANow.com Class 3A poll, released Monday, Oct. 16, then improved to 18-0 overall by ripping non-league 3A Trinidad (4-17 overall) that night.
After visiting PSHS, Bayfield will next see action on Tuesday, Oct. 24, at Durango.
