FARMINGTON – Bayfield’s volleyball team had the edge attacking the back corners of the court early, but the Wolverines’ momentum eventually faded and Piedra Vista prevailed in five sets 25-15, 18-25, 25-13, 25-27 and 13-15 at the Jerry A. Conner Fieldhouse Tuesday night in Farmington.

“It definitely stinks. We gave them a lot of points, and we had too many unforced errors,” Bayfield coach Danica Frost said. “We need to find a way to really get momentum, carry it and go with it. That’s something we’re struggling with.”

Bayfield’s hitters targeted the corners in Piedra Vista’s back row with great force, generating multiple kills and service aces that way.

“We were looking for the open spots in the court. At one point in the third set, I think we had 12 serving aces, which was carrying us through,” Frost said.

Those shots often put the Panthers on their heels, as they tried to move and shift accordingly to keep the ball in play.

“Bayfield’s very notorious for serving deep, hard, heavy balls. Instead of being down here in your lap out in front of you, they tend to get up high by your shoulders,” Piedra Vista coach Ron Becker said.

But in the fourth set, Bayfield had too many untimely missed shots.

While Bayfield struggled, Piedra Vista (8-5) started turning up the heat and attacked from the far sides of the net, something Frost said she didn’t see much of during the first three sets.

The Panthers fought and scrapped for every point they could and forced a fifth set when Haley Golden hammered a hit to the corner from the far-left edge of the net. Golden then secured the match with a fifth-set service ace.

“I really, really, really liked seeing them battle back, have enough intensity and tenacity to come back and win,” Becker said. “Volleyball’s a huge game of momentum, and thank God the momentum was swinging our way.”

Bayfield (9-5, 5-1 3A Intermountain League) will host league foe Montezuma-Cortez (5-8, 2-5 IML) next Tuesday.