Battling none other than Bayfield as Pagosa Springs’ Pirate 4 Corners Scrimmages wound down on Saturday, Ignacio brandished a collective weapon longtime Wolverine head coach Terene Foutz knew would likely do damage.
Rookie counterpart Jennifer Seibel, meanwhile, was elated to see her Volleycats use their feared serves effectively, even after a long but fast-moving day of match-grade preseason practice at the 14-team assembly. And after BHS blasted out to a media-tracked 7-0 advantage in the continuous (teams never swapped sides at any moment) single ‘game,’ IHS battled back to gain the upper hand at 18-17, and pulled away for an unofficial 29-21 victory.
Precisely the sort of scrappiness that Seibal, a three-sport ’Cat before her graduation in 2004, was hoping she’d see out of a veteran-led bunch essential to Ignacio’s 33-19 overall (18-4 2A/1A San Juan Basin League, 14-2 2A SJBL) record the past two seasons under predecessor Shasta Pontine.
“My biggest takeaway was that the girls have that ‘growth’ mindset; they’re hungry to learn,” Seibel said. “They’re all athletes, they want to get better and … we just have so much potential. I was really excited for the challenges we faced Saturday; I saw so much in areas for improvement, and that made me excited because we’ve got a lot – in a good way – to work on.”
“Saturday was a good eye-opener; kids around here are tough, and nothing’s going to be easy or come easy for us.”
Yet with her first-ever high school varsity looking pretty well stocked, Seibel is decidedly stoked over IHS’ prospects for the imminent 2023 season. Senior middle Solymar Cosio returns to anchor the Volleycats’ net presence along with junior middle Ollyvia Howe, while senior Kacey Brown appears to be Seibel’s initial go-to at setter, with freshman Kelly Sirios – Seibel’s daughter – an alternate option. Already established as libero/defensive specialist types, seniors Maci Barnes and Darlyn Mendoza-Lechuga will likely see their roles expanded offensively. Junior Marissa Olguin also returns, and freshman Lily Quintana saw much court time at the scrimmages.
Not a bad batch to replace a great deal of graduated talent, including setter/libero/defensive specialist Laci Brunson (a Colorado High School Coaches Association All-State selection this summer, but conflicted out of playing in Pueblo at The Games), middle/outside hitter Harmony Reynolds (who ended up a college-basketball recruit), right-side/outside/libero Trinity Strohl and reserve setter Sierra Red, plus outside hitter Grace Gonzales, robbed of her senior season by injury.
“We’ve got a handful of seniors who set the tone for our younger girls. They bring that competitive spirit to our team, and it just amps everybody up,” Seibel said. “So I’d say leadership is our strong point – the biggest thing I preach is that the team comes first. ‘Team’ above any one.”
IHS’ season-opener is presently scheduled for Tuesday (Aug. 22) when the team hosts Montezuma-Cortez. Overseen this year by former Panther Skylar Robinson and hungry to atone for last fall’s 0-8 showing in the 3A Intermountain, en route to a 7-15 overall result, M-CHS did log a four-game home win over the ’Cats and ultimately capped off their 2022 campaign winning three out of four matches at 4A Pueblo East’s one-day Steel City Spike.
“We did play versus (Montezuma-Cortez) at Pagosa’s Scrimmages,” Seibel noted, “and it was good. I feel like we battled back-and-forth … so I’m excited for our first home match to be against them. It’ll be a good opportunity for us to really see where we’re at, and where we can go from there.”
Ignacio will then host nonleague 2A Del Norte (18-7 in ’22) on the 24th, and begin SJBL play on the 29th versus 2A Mancos (18-7; 8-3 SJBL, 7-1 2A SJBL). The ’Cats will then start September in Kremmling at the Sept. 1-2 West Grand Invitational.
“We have a lot of away games this year,” Seibel said. “I think we’ve got six or seven home games; the rest are away.”
But again, that fact doesn’t seem to stress the new skipper. Particularly not with a close-knit group of players with whom she’s been familiar with – as a longtime Ignacio Middle School head coach – since some of their earliest days in the sport. In fact, Seibel (wife of IHS Girls’ Basketball head coach Trae) cut her coaching teeth not long after receiving her diploma.
“Like, right after I graduated,” she recalled with a laugh. “I started coaching volleyball and basketball, then just stuck with volleyball – starting with and staying at the middle-school program. I didn’t play college ball or anything like that … but I’m a nontraditional student; I’m actually (studying) at Fort Lewis College, and I’m close to getting my degree in counseling.”
“About 95% of the girls, they went through my (middle-school) program! They know me as a coach and I feel like we have a pretty good relationship; they know my expectations,” she said. “I had parents on my back – in a good way – about me stepping up (to IHS), and the seniors … really wanted me to come up. I was like, ‘You know what? They’ve gone through adversity within their careers, and this is such a good group – how can I say no?’ It was a when-you-know, you-know moment.”
“And I’m a Bobcat, what else can I say? I bleed red and … yeah, I’m happy to be here!”
