If anything could make a 5:30 a.m. bus-ride roll call bearable for a high school volleyball player, it would have to be a victory – even of the predominantly nerve-wracking, rally-driven sort – secured at roughly 8 p.m. the previous night.
Making their IHS Gymnasium debut Thursday, that’s exactly what Ignacio’s Volleycats earned, with an early Friday departure for Kremmling and the West Grand Invitational but a short night’s snooze away.
Facing a much-improved Norwood squad,having recently notched their first win in 2022 after four tries, IHS needed to dig deep to avoid disaster. But behind clutch serving, particularly from junior Kacey Brown early and sophomore Ollyvia Howe late, the home side swiped the 2A/1A San Juan Basin League match 26-24, 25-13 and 25-22.
“I think what was most important,” said head coach Shasta Pontine, “was that they learned how to play from behind.”
“We started off slow,” senior setter Laci Brunson said. “I mean, when you’re in a slow game it’s hard to step up and play at your full potential, but I think we all stepped up to finish the game in three – which was really important.”
Two days after a five-game league loss at Mancos, Ignacio (1-3, 1-1 2A/1A SJBL) traded relatively evenly early on with new NHS skipper Ramona Rummel and her Mavericks, which took command in Game 1 with a six-point run to go up 14-10.
Things got better for the Mavericks, who found themselves sitting on game point, 24-17 when IHS senior Trinity Strohl served long. NHS sophomore Grace Harris then netted a serve herself, putting Brown at the service line. Brown sent over accurate delivery after accurate delivery, limiting Norwood’s offensive options. Brown’s work ultimately yielded two Howe kills and one from junior Solymar Cosio, and goaded NHS senior Grace Fourney into two unforced errors.
Rummel called a timeout with the Lady Mavs still up 24-23, but Brown responded by acing sophomore Kendra McCluer to complete the comeback. Cosio then smacked a shot through the visitors’ middle, and sophomore Amber Bockrath was unable to push a free ball back over the strings, giving Ignacio a 25-24 lead. Brown then polished off an eight-point stay on serve with another ace.
“Feels really good,” Brown said of the win. “I was just trying to do my job, get my serves in!”
Ignacio took the lead at 2-1 in Game 2 and never looked back to gain a 2-0 lead in the match. Consecutive Brunson aces of Bockrath helped Ignacio go up 14-9.
Rummel used her second timeout of the game with NHS trailing 22-12 and Brown about to toe the service line. Brown nevertheless fired an ace, Cosio followed with a kill off Harris, and IHS claimed the game when Norwood’s Dilyn Alexander spiked a shot long.
But 1A Norwood (1-5, 0-1 SJBL) raced out to a 5-2 lead in Game 3 after Alexander knocked Brunson off serve with a scoring tip. The Mavericks widened the gap to 17-6. Back-to-back Marissa Olguin kills brought Ignacio back to 17-10, and Howe would step back to serve at 19-13. Recreating Brown’s stretch, Howe held serve for nine straight points as the ’Cats clawed ahead, 22-19.
“We’d been struggling with our serving,” Brunson said, “so everybody stepping up tonight and getting good service runs will help them individually, but it’ll really help our team.”
Rummel took a timeout, but despite two IHS errors NHS ran out of time when Ignacio senior Harmony Reynolds wrote the match into history with a cross-court kill.
“The team’s been coming together,” Brown said, “and even with our first three losses … each game we’re getting better.”
“It’s an awesome boost of confidence for us to have our first win,” Brunson said. “Mancos was a big loss – that we could have won – but if we all come together and do what we need to do, we could maybe win one at West Grand.”
