Having tinkered with his lineup due to injury and absence, Farmington Piedra Vista head coach Ron Becker knew there would be times in 2017 when his team would be more susceptible to pressure.
Tuesday night was one of those instances.
And the boss was probably the most relieved when sole senior Haley Golden landed an ace on match point, after failed tries by two others gave visiting Bayfield a real chance to make amends for not only a previous loss to PV, but also a rare 3A Intermountain League setback in La Jara three days earlier.
"She stepped up right when we needed her to," Becker said of Golden, via phone after the Panthers pulled out a reported 15-25, 25-18, 14-25*, 27-25, 15-13 come-from-behind win-upping the squad's record to 8-5 overall-inside Jerry A. Conner Fieldhouse.
"It was not our best volleyball, that's for sure," admitted Becker, "but a win's a win. Bayfield, I give them a ton of credit, tough to stay in system against a team like that."
"You know, going into Game Four, their gym was quiet," BHS head coach Danica Frost said, noting 14 service aces - against only three errors - had the enemy on the verge of breaking beyond repair.
"They struggled to pass the ball," she continued, "and that's really where we got them."
After again routing Monte Vista last Saturday but then losing in three to BHS alumna Candace Shaw and still-undefeated, IML-leading (as of Wednesday morning) Centauri, there was definitely a chip on the Wolverines' collective shoulder before the first serve went up.
"We just didn't play that good," summarized senior Sydney Gabbard, already looking forward to next Saturday's neutral-site rematch with Centauri at Montezuma-Cortez, part of a triangular with the Panthers.
PV's Panthers struggled to keep pace early on Tuesday night, and found themselves down two games to one after #10-ranked [CHSAANow.com Class 3A poll, Oct. 2] Bayfield's particularly strong showing in Game 3.
"The last two games were insane," Becker said. "By that point, both teams were playing good volleyball. Reminded me of a slugfest - two boxers just trading punches!"
"It was point-for-point," Frost agreed. "My shoulders were nice and tight after that one!"
Winning their fifth consecutive match since a four-game win inside BHS Gymnasium on Sept. 19, Piedra Vista got 11 kills from freshman Bailey Rasmussen and 10 from fellow emerging freshman Kacee Moore.
Golden finished with nine and junior Tayln Miller contributed five in PVHS' last contest before resuming NMAA District 1-6A work Friday, Oct. 6, at home versus Albuquerque Volcano Vista.
Still 5-1 in the Intermountain, the Wolverines (9-5 overall) got 12 kills and seven service aces from senior Kylee McCoy, plus 11 kills from Gabbard. Sophomore Mavis Edwards downed another nine balls, and senior Ashley Mottin slammed six as senior Courtney Bayles distributed 40 assists. Bayfield totaled 17 aces but 14 service errors against Piedra Vista.
Up next, Bayfield will host M-CHS on Tuesday for a Hawaiian-themed Senior Night starting about 6 p.m. after C-team and JV action.
ABOUT THE ASTERISK: Becker reported Game 3 as a 25-14 win for Bayfield while Frost had 25-13.
