BAYFIELD – Bayfield High School volleyball head coach Terene Foutz has preached from the moment she was hired that the team is not a one-note song with senior Kirstie Hillyer.
The Wolverines had to prove it Saturday against Centauri.
BHS (12-2, 4-0 Intermountain League) won 3-0 (25-11, 25-20, 25-10) on Saturday at BHS but played the entire second set without Hillyer, their Colorado State verbal commitment who sat on the bench alternating a blanket and an ice pack on her shoulder.
“There’s a world of difference between telling a team ‘we’re going to be strong in every rotation’ and actually doing it,” Foutz said. “I think, as a coach, my responsibility is to give them opportunities to prove that.”
Centauri (4-9, 1-3 IML) didn’t make it easy.
The Falcons jumped out to a 4-1 lead that they stretched to 10-5 before BHS found its footing.
“A lot of it is they had a mental block with (Hillyer),” Centauri head coach Kateri Jaramillo said. “When she wasn’t in the game, suddenly it was like, ‘We can compete with these guys.’ They had a mental edge on that point.”
The Wolverines’ tough serving helped them claw back into the set.
BHS senior Caitlin Phelps had two of her game-high eight aces in the Wolverines’ comeback for a 13-12 lead.
BHS then ripped off a 10-2 run powered by BHS sophomore Maddi Foutz and Phelps.
Foutz had back-to-back kills and an ace, and Phelps added another ace and a kill.
“We need to know that every player is important on the team,” said Maddi Foutz, daughter of the coach and Mike Foutz. “We can’t just depend on one or two players. Everyone’s important; everyone has a job.”
Foutz led the team with eight kills and seven digs.
Hillyer returned in the third set and finished with seven kills, as BHS rolled to an easy third-set win to close out its ninth consecutive victory.
The Wolverines led so comfortably in the third set that coach Foutz completely emptied the bench. All 12 players played for BHS, which led to a few mishaps, but senior setter Suzie Rhodes kept the offense moving with 26 assists.
“Having that experienced setter on court is very calming to the team when you’re throwing wrenches in the rotation machine and you’re forcing your kids to play with different people,” coach Foutz said. “(Rhodes) was the constant.”
Class 3A BHS will take a short break from its league schedule to play the second match of a home-and-home set with Class 4A Durango High School at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at BHS. The Wolverines won the first meeting in five sets.
“It helps us a lot to play Durango, because they’re going to push us even further and help us keep up our game and go further,” said BHS senior Jessie Roukema, daughter of Jerrin and Shane Roukema.
kgrabowski@ durangoherald.com
