BAYFIELD
These Mean Moose were meaner than expected.
The Bayfield High School volleyball team had to come from behind in the final two games of its 3-0 (25-14, 25-21, 25-19) win over Alamosa on Thursday in Bayfield.
The first game progressed smoothly enough – a 25-14 win for the Wolverines.
“The first game was nerves. We had to realize we could play with them,” Alamosa head coach Amber Ullery said. “The first game, we were so passive. I told them to just go for it; we had nothing to lose.”
The Mean Moose responded by jumping out to a 4-1 lead early in the second game.
BHS (10-2, 2-0 Intermountain League) battled back to tie the game at nine but couldn’t take the lead until 15-14.
Alamosa (4-4, 1-2 IML) regained the lead and held it until the Wolverines took a 20-19 lead on an Alamosa hitting error.
The Mean Moose called a timeout after that, but BHS scored five of the next seven points to clinch the set.
“They definitely played back. We had to work really hard to get a point, put it down,” said BHS senior Caitlin Phelps, daughter of Kristi and Rick Phelps. “Their defense was awesome. It was hard to find a hole.”
Alamosa also led 6-4 in the second set, but the Wolverines regained control at 9-8 and never looked back.
BHS senior Kirstie Hillyer led the team with 16 kills, while sophomore Emily Bauer added eight.
BHS sophomore Maddi Foutz had seven kills and 11 digs, and Wolverines’ senior setter Suzie Rhodes dished out 24 assists.
The game didn’t come easy to the Wolverines, though. They had 18 hitting errors, which kept Alamosa in the match.
“We were a little careless at the net,” BHS head coach Terene Foutz said. “We made some assumptions that balls were going to go down, and that wasn’t the case at all. Alamosa played a great match (Thursday). They were prepared for us.”
Competition hasn’t been something BHS is used to seeing in recent seasons in the IML. The Wolverines haven’t lost a league match since 2007 and haven’t dropped a set since Oct. 19, 2012.
There’s a silver lining to needing to battle, though, as it keeps the Wolverines sharp in their pursuit of another state tournament bid.
“I think it’s definitely a good thing, because now we actually have some competition to play against,” said Hillyer, daughter of Laura and Rich Hillyer.
BHS will continue IML play with a 6:30 p.m. Tuesday trip to Pagosa Springs to play the Pirates.
kgrabowski@ durangoherald.com
