A run at a sixth consecutive state tournament berth begins Tuesday for the Bayfield High School volleyball team.
The Wolverines have ended their season on the floor of the Denver Coliseum every year since 2009, and the expectations aren’t going anywhere in head coach Terene Foutz’s second season.
BHS lost four seniors to graduation but returns its leading attacker, setter and libero for another go.
BHS senior Kirstie Hillyer will be the face of BHS volleyball for a fourth consecutive season and is expected to continue her playing career at Colorado State University next year.
She ranked third in Class 3A in kills (370), third in hitting percentage (.457) and fifth in total blocks (107) while being named to the Colorado High School Activities Association Class 3A All-State second team.
Suzie Rhodes, the Wolverines’ setter, is the reigning Intermountain League Player of the Year and ranked in the top five in Class 3A in assists (697) and aces (79) last season.
BHS sophomore libero Maddi Foutz ranked second in Class 3A in aces and fifth in digs as a freshman.
Desptie that experience at the top, BHS will field a relatively young team top to bottom.
The Wolverines have five seniors on their roster, but the remaining nine spots are occupied by freshmen and sophomores.
BHS seniors Martina Moreno, Caitlin Phelps and Jessie Roukema will join Hillyer and Rhodes in their quest for four consecutive IML titles.
BHS opens the season at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at home with regional rival Piedra Vista High School (Farmington, New Mexico).
The Panthers beat BHS 3-2 in two different contests last season and lost in the New Mexico Class 4A state championship match.
Piedra Vista since has been moved into New Mexico’s 5A classification.
The Wolverines also will face Durango High School and Montezuma-Cortez early in the season before hosting Aztec and Farmington.
After IML play, which BHS hasn’t lost a match in since Oct. 19, 2012, the Wolverines travel to Palmer Ridge in Monument before the end of the season.
kgrabowski@durangoherald.com
