For the second time this season, the Bayfield and Durango high school volleyball teams needed five sets to determine a winner, and this time is was the Demons who celebrated at the end of the night.
To get the win, Durango had to hold off the Wolverines in a grueling first set, then bounce back from losses in the second and fourth sets to earn the win 30-28, 18-25, 25-15, 19-25, 15-9 on Durango’s senior night Tuesday at a raucous DHS.
“I’ve been on varsity since I was a sophomore, and we always lost to Bayfield in really tight games,” Durango senior captain Brett Rowland said. “This is a really special team this year, and everybody makes everybody else better – that’s what makes us a winning team. Even though there’s only the six of us on the court at one time, it takes every single one of us to want this game as much as we did.”
It was Durango’s first win against Bayfield since 2015 and the sixth time in the last eight meetings that the two sides needed all five sets to determine a winner.
The first set of the match set the tone.
During the set, Bayfield (12-7) would go on a short run to build a lead of a few points, then the Demons (14-5) would answer with a quick run of their own. Midway through the set, Durango went on an 8-1 run to take a 20-16 lead and had a chance to end the first set after building a 24-22 lead. But the Wolverines took the next three points to take the lead at 25-24.
Bayfield had three chances to end the set with set points at 25-24, 26-25 and 27-26 but couldn’t put the Demons away.
“We played really good volleyball tonight, and that’s what we’ve been focusing on,” DHS head coach Colleen Vogt said. “At this point in the season and knowing we’re going to regionals kind of no matter what, we’re focusing on playing our best volleyball, and that’s what I’m most proud of tonight. Yeah, there were times we made errors, but that’s the game of volleyball. But their resiliency and willingness to win is unbelievable.”
Bayfield evened the match in the second set. After Durango started the set well, the Wolverines took control midway through the set and cruised to the win.
The Demons responded to the second-set loss with a dominant performance in the third. Durango took an early lead and was up a few points most of the early part of the set. With a 15-11 lead, the Demons outscored the Wolverines 10-4 to get the win.
The fourth set was tightly contested almost the entire way. The two teams traded points the entire set and were tied at 18 when the Wolverines got rolling and finished on a 7-1 run to win.
All the momentum seemed to be on the Wolverines’ side, but the Demons scored a couple quick points to build a slight lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
“That’s a fun match,” Bayfield head coach Danica Frost said. “(We’re) walking out of here with heads up and knowing that’s a hard-fought match. It was point-for-point. We had a huge showing from Bayfield. They had a rowdy crowd, we had a rowdy crowd. It was a good night and a good volleyball match.”
Both teams will head out of town this weekend for tournaments. Bayfield will go to the Palmer Ridge Tournament in Monument before turning its focus to the postseason, while Durango will play at Ponderosa’s Mustang Classic in Parker.
The win against the Wolverines should give the Demons a boost in the Colorado High School Activities Association’s RPI rankings, and a good weekend in Parker would help, too. Durango currently ranks 12th in the standings and needs to hold on to a top-12 ranking to host their regional tournament. Vogt said she isn’t sure the last time Durango hosted a regional but believes it has been eight or nine years.
The Demons are ready to play the role of hosts.
“I remember when I was little and used to come to the games. I was up in the stands watching those girls out there hosting,” Rowland said. “It would be huge for my senior year to be part of that, and I know every single one of these girls on the team would love to be able to stay at home and finally get to show people where Durango is. ... Bring the Denver kids down here and let them experience what it’s like down here.”
kschneider@durangoherald.com
