Montrose had the look of a team set to spoil Durango High School volleyball’s first taste of home cooking this year. And not just spoil it, sweep the whole meal off the table.
And the Indians would have, if not for a spirited DHS rally. A rally that fell short for the home side.
The Demons returned from a long road trip and were on the brink of being swept before finally falling 3-2 (25-22, 25-19, 23-25, 19-25, 15-12) to Montrose – ranked No. 8 in the chsaanow.com Class 4A poll – on Friday at DHS.
Errors ended up being the straw that broke the Demons’ back Friday in the fifth and deciding set. They committed eight errors of either the service or attack variety in the fifth set, falling behind by as much as four before rallying back to within a point at 12-11, thanks in part to a changed (and seemingly correct) call by the officials that Laura Lieb’s shot hit the net and not the pole signifying out of bounds.
But two kills by Brooke White, who had 20, and one final dagger from Marisa Jahnke finally allowed the Indians to outlast the Demons.
“I think we were on point those two games,” said Mikayla Montoya, daughter of Frank and Stacie Montoya. “And we played us. We played what we had and showed them. I just think that, yes, we lost, but it doesn’t feel like a loss. I think, in the end, we’ll be fine.”
Durango (4-7, 1-2 Southwestern League) had to work hard just to get to that point. The Demons were down 2-0 in the match and 20-15 in the third set before roaring back to life thanks to a couple of kills by Jessie Brammer – who led the Demons with 14 – and some nifty work up front by the DHS block, including Bella Bernazzani, Brammer, Elise Christiansen, Berkeley Davis and Lieb.
Christiansen did most of her best work in the fourth set as part of a five-block night, including 1½ as part of the deciding run that turned a 10-all tie into a 16-10 DHS lead.
Bernazzani had 10 blocks and Davis eight kills and 12 digs.
“When our block’s on, we look good. ... Our block is very important for us,” DHS alumna and first-year head coach Colleen Keresey said.
Durango’s oft-lamented problem with slow starts reared its ugly head again as DHS faltered late in the first set and opened the second on the wrong side of an 8-1 run. Montoya suggested that a bit more enthusiasm in pregame, maybe even more intense pregame warmup music possibly could turn the tide. Keresey seemed open to ideas.
“Honestly, if I knew, we would probably be starting better because I haven’t figured it out yet,” Keresey said.
Gabi Razma led DHS with 26 digs, while Montoya added 16 and Maddie Robertson 13. Logan Clark had 25 assists and Alli Davis 10 for Durango.
It’s the first time DHS has lost two or more SWL contests in a season since 2010. The Demons will try to get back in the win column at 11:30 a.m. Saturday at home against Grand Junction.
“It’s nice to see them fight and compete,” Keresey said. “I told them, ‘Guys, the scoreboard may say differently, but we’re a better team right now than we were two hours ago.’ And I think right now, that’s all we can ask for.”
rowens@durangoherald.com
