The Skyhawks haven’t gotten to spend a lot of time at home lately, so they decided to make the most of a brief stop in Durango.
The Fort Lewis College volleyball team looked sharp Saturday, finishing a weekend sweep with a 3-0 (25-10, 25-23, 25-21) win over Adams State at Whalen Gymnasium.
FLC (3-11, 3-3 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) went 2-0 at home this weekend after a brutal 12-game road swing to open the season. And, on Saturday, the Skyhawks’ confidence in front of a solid home crowd was evident as they served well and spread the ball around well to keep the Grizzlies (6-8, 4-2 RMAC) off balance.
“It’s been tough, to be honest with you, as far as playing on the road for this long, this many matches on the road and so many ranked opponents,” FLC head coach Kelley Rifilato said. “Sometimes you second-guess yourself as to where you really are. ... We feed off that energy (from the crowd), and we haven’t had it in a month.”
The match marked the first meeting of mother and daughter this year for the Rifilato family, with mom and FLC head coach Kelley Rifilato topping daughter, Bayfield High School alumna and Adams State setter Gabriella Rifilato, with the rematch set for Nov. 1 in Alamosa. The younger Rifilato had 23 assists.
For the elder Rifilato, coaching to beat her offspring was not an easy task.
“Hard. It’s hard,” Rifilato said. “Just because she and I think so much alike, I kind of could guess what she was going to do. ... Keeping them out of system was the key, because if she was going to stand at the net and set the ball all day, we were going to have a really tough time.”
Adams State looked off from the start, and an aggressive FLC serve had plenty to do with it. The Grizzlies opened with seven consecutive attack errors and never seemed to be able to get themselves in synch in an opening-set drubbing that saw middle hitter Madi Bickle compile five of her 13 kills, while teammate Ashley Wells had four of her 13 kills in the frame.
Bickle proved adept all evening at changing the pace, as was fellow middle hitter Kristin Stephan, who had six kills. The duo’s ability to read the defense and utilize touch over power when the situation called for it helped open up the floor.
“I just don’t like when people touch the ball,” Bickle said with a laugh.
The variety of passes from setter Heather Danny, who had 32 assists, would be a theme all evening as FLC found success several times through the middle before going back outside, again keeping the Grizzlies’ defense off balance.
“I think moving the ball around was key for us (Saturday), especially setting up our middle and establishing them from the beginning,” Danny said.
Adams State would pull ahead 19-15 thanks to a 7-0 run in the second set, only to see FLC rally for a 23-20 lead before finally putting the Grizzlies away.
A 9-1 outburst put the Grizzlies on top 16-12 in the third set, but the Skyhawks would close with four consecutive points after being tied 21-all to shut the door.
Jenna Kinzer led FLC with 17 digs, and the Skyhawks had six service aces, led by three from Stephan.
Megan Tapia and Deprece Washington had six kills each to lead Adams State.
Unfortunately for the Skyhawks, another road trip awaits. The next trip is a long one, too, starting Friday at Black Hills State in Spearfish, S.D. – a 13-hour bus ride.
rowens@durangoherald.com
