The Durango High School volleyball team is off to a 3-0 start for the second time in the past five seasons after the Demons swept Pagosa Springs 25-22, 25-23 and 25-14 Saturday at DHS.
The three set victory was the second sweep in a row for the Demons, who won one match 3-0 during the 2016 season.
After fighting out the first set for a close win, the Demons trailed for a good portion of the second set before they rallied back from a 16-12 deficit to get the win.
“They’re bringing such an energy to the court,” Durango head coach Colleen Vogt said of the Demons. “They’re smiling from ear to ear and having fun. They’re battling and they’re fighting. We knew Pagosa was going to get their share of kills and we knew it was going to be a battle. … We’ve been craving that good game to see what we’re really made of.”
Durango rolled through the third set with relative ease. Vogt said the difference between the close first and second set and the lopsided third set was that the Demons (3-0) finally began to wear the Pirates (4-3) down.
The Demons were without setter Brianna Brown, who missed the match to take the ACTs. Senior Kylee Cosse was more than adequate in her role as setter against the Pirates and finished the day with 20 assists.
“We miss Bri, she’s our captain and she’s the heart and soul of our team, but it was nice, Kylee’s a senior and knows what to do on the court,” Vogt said. “I think it’s a testament to our bench. For anybody to step up and play everyone gets excited and cheers them on. I feel like I could put anybody in and go out there and compete.”
Brett Rowland led the Demons with 12 kills, her second match in a row with 12 kills.
Taylor Wolf controlled the net with eight blocks in the win.
Durango will hit the road for the first time this season on Tuesday, traveling to Farmington to challenge Piedra Vista (1-1).
The Bayfield Wolverines had an impressive showing at the Lewis-Palmer tournament in Monument
BHS (3-2, 1-0 3A Intermountain League) finished fourth out of 12 teams at the big meet. It began with a 2-0 win against Broomfield and a 2-1 victory against Class 3A No. 2 Valley. The Wolverines then dropped a 2-0 game to Pueblo West and fell 2-0 to Niwot.
Pueblo West and Niwot are both top-10 teams in Class 4A.
BHS dropped the first set to Valley 25-20 but rallied to win the next two 25-16 and 15-8.
The Wolverines swept Broomfield 25-23, 25-20.
Pueblo West beat Bayfield 25-17 in both sets. Niwot claimed set wins of 25-17 and 26-24 against the Wolverines.
Statistics were not immediately available.
The Wolverines will travel to face Aztec at 6 p.m. Tuesday and will host a tri-meet with Monte Vista and Pagosa Springs on Saturday.
The Ignacio High School volleyball team dropped one match and won another in 2A/1A San Juan Basin League action Saturday.
The Bobcats fell 3-0 to Telluride but rallied to beat Norwood 3-1.
Ignacio’s win against Norwood was its first of the season. IHS is now 1-3. The Bobcats will host Dolores at 6 p.m. Thursday.
Telluride won 25-18, 25-23, 25-12.
Ignacio bested Norwood 26-24, 25-16, 17-25, 25-18.
The Durango boys tennis team turned in a solid performance at the Western Slope Open Saturday in Grand Junction.
Head coach Alan Batiste said he was impressed with the team’s improvement and consistency in the untraditional tournament that had the players playing eight game pro sets.
“I think overall it was a step in the right direction,” Batiste said. “The boys are getting some more confidence and the boys competed. It was good.”
The Demons won more matches at the tournament this year than they did last year. Batiste said the effort the Demons put forth during the tournament was phenomenal and that after their matches the mood among the team was positive, even in the losses.
Batiste said it was tough to tell how well the Demons played based on the scores.
Rory Walker, from Cortez, went 2-0 on the day, and Batiste said freshman Ethan Craig played well.
Durango will be off until Sept. 22-23 when the Demons will travel to Grand Junction. They’ll face Grand Junction on Sept. 22, then challenge Grand Junction Central the morning of Sept. 23 before a second match against Gran Junction in the afternoon.
heraldsports@durangoherald.com
