Senior night was a success for the Durango Demons as they beat the Bayfield Wolverines in straight sets (25-16, 30-28, 25-11) Tuesday night at DHS.
Durango improved to 14-5 overall and 6-2 in the 4A/5A Southwestern league. Bayfield fell to 5-14 after the loss and stayed at 3-5 in the 3A Intermountain league.
“Every battle like that is great for us,” Durango coach Kelley Rifilato said. “We figure out who we are and a little more about us as we go.”
Senior outside hitter Aava Dreger led the Demons with 11 kills and two aces. It was her third game back from an ankle injury, which sidelined her for two weeks.
“She brings that wealth of knowledge that the other kids then try because she does that,” Rifilato said of Dreger. “It’s totally not something that you can say that she does this one thing. It’s every shot and she’s always looking at the block, and she’s also always sharing that information with the other hitters, which is cool. She’s a coach on the floor. She’s just wise beyond her years.”
Senior middle blocker Sarah Somrak also had a productive night with eight kills and three blocks, while sophomore outside hitter Hadyn Neiman contributed eight kills and an ace.
Durango struggled early in the first set, trailing 7-4. The Demons had numerous errors with missed hits that cruised past the out-of-bounds line.
Bayfield finally relinquished the lead to Durango when Somrak’s kill pushed the Demons ahead 8-7. Junior outside hitter Avery Rike helped extend Durango’s lead to 11-8 with two key kills.
The Wolverines came back to cut Durango’s lead to 12-11 with help from DHS errors.
Durango then went on an extended run, thanks to two consecutive kills from Neiman and a kill from Dreger.
Dreger continued to attack with two more kills to increase Durango’s lead to 19-13, and the Demons eventually took the opening set.
Durango again started off slow with numerous errors, including a service error, a failed tip shot and a hit over the end line, trailing 7-2 to start the second set.
“We really haven’t played that many home games this year,” Rifilato said. “I really feel like its nerves because when we’re on the road we don’t see this.”
After some back-and-forth play, Bayfield later extended its lead to 21-17. Two kills by Somrak helped the Demons come back and tie the set 21-21, prompting a rapturous crowd response.
Durango took the lead once again at 26-25 after an error at the net by Bayfield. A tremendous rally ensued over the next point, ending in a Bayfield kill after numerous Demons players dove to the ground to keep the rally alive.
With the second set tied 28-28, Durango took the lead with a Neiman ace and the crowd roared when Somrak blocked a Bayfield hit at the net to win the second set.
Bayfield never recovered from that point on, as Durango led the entire third set.
The Wolverines committed numerous errors, which turned into easy Demon points. Durango went on a 10-1 run midway through the final set and secured the sweep.
Durango will face Valor Christian, the state’s top-ranked 5A team at 16-0, on Friday to start the Discovery Canyon Tournament.
“They haven’t lost a set all year, and they have an outside hitter going to LSU,” Rifilato said. “I think they could play (University of Colorado), honestly.”
bkelly@durangoherald.com
