On Tuesday night at Bayfield High School, Durango High volleyball looked like the 5A team in the building. However, 3A Bayfield played more like a 5A team than Durango in the Wolverines’ 3-1 victory
The Wolverines hosted the Demons in front of a raucous home crowd and Durango never looked comfortable. The Demons looked like a team that lost a lot of key contributors that’s still trying to find themselves. Bayfield had more composure, better accuracy and took advantage of the Demons inexperienced players with plenty of tip shots.
Bayfield easily could’ve won 3-0 if it wasn’t for a miraculous Durango comeback in Set 1. The Wolverines learned from the first set and beat the Demons 22-25, 25-23, 25-13, 25-18, to send the student section on the court in celebration.
“This year it was super fun for them (Bayfield) to open at home,” Bayfield head coach Terene Foutz said. “They are great friends with a lot of kids at Durango; they play together in the offseason. It means a lot to both teams to play each other in a great way, because they worked so hard in the offseason to elevate their game. Durango is always a great matchup.”
Bayfield improved to 2-0 overall; it was the second consecutive year the Wolverines beat the Demons. Durango fell to 0-5 overall after it went 0-4 in its season-opening Dixie Invitational in St. George, Utah. It’s the worst start to the season through five games for the Demons in at least 18 years.
The Demons made a bunch of sloppy errors and didn’t look composed early. The Wolverines were the aggressors as Durango struggled to hit on target and was getting most of its points on blocks. Rifilato called a timeout with the Demons down 10-5.
Bayfield continued to have the right shot at the right time to catch Durango off guard. The crowd roared as Durango junior libero Olivia Cuellar couldn’t dive quick enough for a ball and the Wolverines led 12-5. Demons junior Swift Webber had the response with a phenomenal kill down the right line.
“It was a gift tonight, the energy in the gym ,” Foutz said. “Kudos to Durango, it was a really old school Colorado volleyball match where both schools’ fans were really loud. They were really fun and it was good energy on both sides of the net.”
Webber’s kill seemed to settle the Demons and unsettle the Wolverines as Durango went on a 5-0 run to cut the Bayfield lead to 12-10.
Senior Hadyn Neiman showed off her athleticism at the net with a great block on the right side. Another block on the right side tied the game at 14. Webber had an unlikely ace as the Wolverines looked rattled.
The Demons increased their lead to 20-14 as Durango dominated around the net. Bayfield didn’t have the touch they had early in the set and was leaving its hits short of the net or hitting them way out of bounds. Foutz had to call two timeouts during the Durango run.
Wolverines senior Evelette Hollibaugh stopped the bleeding for Bayfield with a great crosscourt kill. Senior Avery Shipman and junior Vivien Clance had great kills around the net to keep Bayfield within striking distance.
Bayfield hung around as senior Grace Barber had a phenomenal ace down the right side. Unfortunately for Wolverines fans, Barber couldn’t continue the rally as her next serve went into the net. Durango took Set 1, 25-22.
The break between Set 1 and Set 2 seemed to settle the Wolverines and Bayfield increased its lead to 13-6 thanks to some great accuracy with its hitting and serving. Like in Set 1, Durango struggled to get good contact and placement on its attacks, as the Demons were primarily scoring on Bayfield hits out of bounds.
Bayfield kept its composure, not allowing Durango to get back into the set as the Wolverines held an 18-10 lead.
Down 23-17, Webber hit a ball from her knees to keep the point alive and sophomore Taylor Conway had the block. That kill turned the momentum. All of a sudden, Bayfield couldn’t handle Durango’s serves and the Wolverine lead was cut to 23-22.
Durango senior Aysia Mathews tied the set at 23 with a crosscourt kill. Bayfield responded with a kill right down the middle. Mathews had a chance to respond, but hit it out of bounds and Bayfield took Set 2, 25-23.
“We decided to make a couple of set changes, maybe get the kids a couple of vertical balls that they could line up to something more visual to help them get some good swings,” Foutz said. “But, I thought they got some good swings at the end.”
Sets three and four were both similar for the Wolverines. The Demons struggled to start the sets and Bayfield’s leads increased after some poor setting and hitting by the Demons. The Wolverines showed more composure and Durango looked like a team that lost its setter from last year.
Bayfield had some great tip shots and blocks at the net. Wolverines senior libero Lauren Rich was all over the place, keeping points alive as Bayfield cruised to a 25-13 Set 3 win and a 25-18 Set 4 win.
“She is one of the calming x-factors of the team,” Foutz said about Rich. “Libero’s should be smooth and quiet and Lauren is that way right now … It’s very calming to the team. They know that she's behind them on block. She did a good job picking up balls on her feet tonight.”
Bayfield stays at home to play Montrose on Friday at 6 p.m. Foutz thinks the team needs to continue working on its defense.
Durango stays on the road to play at Delta on Thursday at 6 p.m.
bkelly@durangoherald.com
