Looking at the teams’ records, Bayfield High School volleyball’s 3-1 win at Durango High School on Tuesday night isn’t surprising.
The Wolverines had a winning record at 12-5 overall going into the game against the Demons. On the other hand, Durango was 8-13 overall.
Looking deeper however, the Demons are a 5A team that had won four of its last five games as they attempt to make a late run at the playoffs. Durango was looking to bounce back from its 3-1 loss at 3A Bayfield on Aug. 26 and avoid losing to Bayfield twice in one season for the first time since 2016.
Bayfield looked like the 5A team on Tuesday night as the Wolverines defeated Durango for the second time this year. Durango never got in a rhythm, had a lot of hitting errors and looked off like it did early in the season. Bayfield was composed and hit Durango with a variety of shots to pull away at the end of three of the four sets.
“Our goal was to get better as the match went on and to learn as we competed,” Bayfield head coach Terene Foutz said. “We kept learning; the team did a good job on their serve location. They put a lot of pressure on Durango. We hit the spots we wanted to hit on the serving line and we worked very hard on that. If we could push the Durango ball off the net, it's kind of the equalizer; they have great hitters.”
Bayfield improved to 13-5 overall and remained at 5-2 in the 3A Intermountain League after the 25-16, 25-21, 23-25, 25-18 win over the Demons. Senior Evelette Hollibaugh led the Wolverines with 21 kills and senior Grace Barber added 16 kills. Senior Maeli Quintana led Bayfield with 17 digs and Hollibaugh added 15. Senior Avery Shipman led Bayfield with 44 assists.
Durango dropped to 8-14 overall and remained at 5-4 in the 4A/5A Southwestern League. Sophomore Devyn Edwards led Durango with 15 kills and senior Hadyn Neiman added 13 kills. Junior Swift Webber had 14 digs and senior Mia Carozza also had 14 digs. Senior Indie Shows led Durango with 26 assists. The Demons couldn’t afford a loss with their fading playoff hopes. Durango was outside the top 36 in 5A before the Bayfield match and only has one game remaining in the regular season.
“I thought we weren't like this anymore,” Durango head coach Kelley Rifilato said. “I haven't seen this in two months. We knock off the 11th-ranked team in 5A (Fruita Monument) and now we struggle against a smaller team. Here's the story: We had 39 kills. But we also had 17 hitting errors and 15 shanked balls. That’s half a game and if you combine them, that's one whole game. So even if you're trying to battle back, it's hard.”
Bayfield got off to a 6-2 lead in Set 1, thanks to some attack and setting errors from Durango. Bayfield looked more composed and in control early with some solid kills and a few tools on the right side.
Neiman’s back-to-back kills tied the set at eight. Another kill by Neiman gave Durango a 10-9 lead. Early on, Bayfield struggled with Neiman’s power and accuracy.
The errors for Durango returned and Bayfield took over. The Wolverines led 19-13 with some great blocking at the net and the occasional tricky tip shots.
Rifilato’s timeouts couldn’t stop Bayfield’s momentum. Hollibaugh had a few strong kills, including one down the left side that gave Bayfield a 25-16 Set 1 win.
The Wolverines took their first lead of Set 2, 11-10, after Durango struggled to attack around the net after its early lead. Hollibaugh had the power on the left side to challenge the Demons and make for some difficult Durango digs.
“She was really coachable today,” Foutz said about Hollibaugh. “With a big arm like that, big players have to learn to manage it and their unforced errors. A lot of the conversation in the match was, all right, let's control the situation … Kudos to our setter for creating those opportunities. Avery (Shipman) was amazing tonight, and she created a lot of open net for us.”
Durango, specifically senior Aysia Mathews, responded on the right side. A nice kill and block from Mathews tied it up and Edwards’ tip gave Durango a 17-16 lead.
Once again, Bayfield had the response. The Wolverines kept their composure and Hollibaugh had a quality kill down the right side and the Wolverines finished the set off with a kill down the middle for the 25-21 win.
Set 3 started like Set 2, with Durango in front early. Bayfield looked a little unsettled, Durango was serving well and the Demons led 9-5 before Foutz called a timeout. Back-to-back kills from Neiman gave Durango an 11-6 lead.
Bayfield responded. Hollibaugh had three consecutive kills to tie the set at 13. Mathews had the answer with two kills to retake the lead. With the set tied at 19, Shows showed she can kill too, with an ace and two kills for the 22-19 lead.
Durango finally closed out a set. Despite some quality play with a tip and dump shot from Bayfield, Edwards had the final say with a kill from the left and a 25-23 set win.
“We didn't make as many errors in a row,” Rifilato said about Set 3. “When you're making four, five or six errors in a row, it’s a struggle … Our blocking is normally our strength and had a lot of people leaning sideways instead of owning their area. Once the block starts to lean, then the angle is different for the person digging behind that.”
Bayfield had the answer to start Set 4. The Wolverines showed off a few tip shots and power kills for a 9-1 lead. Durango didn’t look comfortable with its digs and therefore, couldn’t set up quality attacks.
The Wolverines continued to hold their large lead and led 20-11. Durango never looked comfortable digging the ball, leading to countless errors. Barber finished the match with a crosscourt kill from the right for the 25-18 set win.
Durango finishes its regular season at home against Grand Junction on Saturday at noon.
Bayfield has more work to do with a rescheduled game against Pagosa Springs next Tuesday and then the Wolverines will compete in the Colorado Invite in Colorado Springs on Oct. 31. Foutz is excited to see her team compete against more 4A and 5A schools as Bayfield’s one of the only 3A schools competing, according to Foutz.
bkelly@durangoherald.com
