Needing less than half the time required to simply travel to Dove Creek, Ignacio’s Volleycats did Saturday inside ‘The DawgHouse’ what needed doing to remain unbeaten in 2A/1A San Juan Basin League action going into the last week of regular-season work.
Allowing rebuilding DCHS to even tie the score only once (at 1-1 in Set 2) in a match completed in less than an hour, IHS operated as quickly as possible to dispatch the Bulldogs 25-8, 25-13 and 25-9 for the 3-0 sweep.
“They’re certainly rebuilding but … they have an amazing coach,” Ignacio head coach Jennifer Seibel said about Dove Creek. “She’s got a real young team going through those aches and pains of … building up to be strong and I think they’ll have a stronger program the next couple years.”
With junior Kelly Sirios opening the match on serve, junior Maliyah Martinez placing a roll shot for the first point, and the ’Cats also scoring via a Sirios ace, a middle tip by sophomore Alleah Neil, and a fierce Neil kill off DCHS sophomore Leah Barnett, Dove Creek head coach Erin Barry quickly called timeout with the Set 1 score 6-1 in the visitors’ favor.
But after junior Mykaela Fury then hit long and Ignacio junior Lainee Bradley served back-to-back aces, the ’Cats were again off and running, destined not to be caught. Barry elected to use her second allotted stoppage after a cross-court kill by senior Juliann Avila increased IHS’ lead to 14-3, but the pause had little effect on the imminent outcome.
Junior Reggi Gustafson scored with a tip shot, putting Bradley on serve again at 21-8, and Bradley then secured the set with a clean ace followed by a serve too hot for DCHS senior libero Kaylen Trejo to cleanly handle.
Gustafson struck again early in Set 2, with a kill regaining the ’Cats a 2-1 edge which only grew, albeit more slowly than in the previous set. A kill by senior Hadley Hatfield actually pulled Dove Creek back to 6-4, and the Bulldogs came as close as 11-9 before Ignacio (18-3 overall; 11-0 SJBL) went on a 6-0 run featuring two Sirios aces.
Sirios then served long, but promptly atoned for the error by teeing up Neil’s quick kill into DCHS’ center. Bradley followed with an unreturnable serve and Martinez willed a kill through the top of the net, before Hatfield countered with a kill helping shrink the deficit to 20-13.
Ignacio junior libero Tarah Baker, however, brought the proceedings to a rapid end; put on serve at 21-13, she then served consecutive aces, plus landed another delivery receivable enough, but too tough to take. Gustafson then banged a kill off Hatfield to give the Volleycats a 2-0 lead in the match.
Sirios began Set 3 on serve and Bradley promptly scored with a placed roll shot. Before long, Barry was using a timeout after Trejo again fell victim to an IHS serve, putting the guests up 9-2. Unluckily, Ignacio added five more points in succession, and after Avila blocked Fury the lead had ballooned to 14-2.
Somehow, Dove Creek (3-16; 2-7 SJBL) still had some fight left and responded with a five-point burst. But the ’Cats answered with five straight points and Barry had little choice but to burn her last timeout. Moments later, however, IHS led 22-8 after back-to-back unplayable serves by senior Alyssa Atencio, and 23-8 after a Bradley kill.
DCHS managed to regain the serve at 23-9, but after Hatfield put the ball in play, Fury sent an attack long and put Ignacio on match point. Avila then served, and the afternoon ended quietly, save for the Volleycats’ brief celebration, when Bulldog sophomore Alyssah Johannsen netted an attack.
After dropping a match to Dolores on Tuesday, Ignacio will conclude regular-season play on Thursday at nonleague Sargent (18-1, 6-0 1A Southern Peaks).
“Dolores, then Sargent …. They’re going to be really, really great for us,” Seibel said. “It’s going to set us up for, hopefully, a great spot for postseason and whatever comes next.”
