The Durango High School volleyball team returned to winning ways with a three-set sweep of Grand Junction Central on Saturday at Durango High School, as the Demons won 25-10, 25-14 and 25-19.
The Demons’ serve game was on point, as Durango recorded 16 service aces in the win, including six from junior outside hitter Kyle Rowland. Senior Millie O’Ketter finished with seven kills, while Sydney Summers recorded five in the win. The Warriors were led by three players who recorded three kills, while Sylvia Gonzalez had 14 digs, and Chloe Nordstrom recorded 10 assists.
“We were just ready to play today, honestly,” said senior middle blocker Grace Caldwell. “We just knew that we could beat them, and we wanted to win so badly after that brutal loss last night. On my serves, Colleen told me, ‘You better get those sick serves in,’ and I was able to do that. Our serving was great today and was much improved from last night.”
In the first set, Durango (6-2, 2-1 5A/4A Southwestern League) dominated the front row, as Summers and Paige Ammerman controlled the block. Durango got off to a quick 5-0 lead. It would remain a steady lead, as DHS pushed its lead to 13-6 after O’Ketter recorded her first block of the match. Durango closed the set on an 8-0 run to win 25-10.
In the second set, it was a similar narrative, as Caldwell and Summers helped DHS get off to a quick 8-1 lead before the Warriors burned their first timeout of the set.
Later, Rowland went on a 5-0 service run and recorded a key cross-court kill to make it 14-6. The closest Central got was five at 14-9, but the Demons were able to take the set on a 5-4 run, which included the set-winning service ace by Rowland.
DHS head coach Colleen Vogt said coming into Saturday’s match, she knew her side had a big opportunity to bounce back after a letdown Friday night against Fruita Monument.
“It was a really great team win today,” Vogt said. “I’m really proud to put the bench in for a lot of points today, and they didn’t miss a beat. They all played great and didn’t make any errors, either. After last night struggling to get our offense going, we were trying to be a little more creative, a bit quicker and it helped.”
In the third set, Grand Junction Central (3-7, 0-3 SWL) stayed in the match through its young outside hitters, freshmen Keylee Reynolds and Alex Wagner, but the Demons bounced back through their service game yet again.
“We had three sophomores and three freshmen play the majority of the day,” Adams said. “I thought we had some kids show some fearlessness for never playing at this level before, and having the guts to go for it. It was exciting to see that, and we just talked a lot about giving courage and mental toughness, and they did that today.”
The Demons got off to a quick 4-1 lead and extended it to 10-5 on a hitting error from the Warriors. Rowland recorded another ace to make it 17-11, but the Warriors would crawl back to make it a three-point match at 19-16 after a service error from the Demons. DHS closed it out on a 5-3 run for the win.
Durango will host Bayfield (8-2, 4-0 3A Intermountain League at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Durango High School.
bploen@durangoherald.com
