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  Home Page » Sports » High School » Hello Regionals For Bayfield Volleyball

Hello Regionals for Bayfield volleyball

Bayfield scary good at Districts with 3 more wins in record season

by Dale Strode
Herald Sports Writer

BAYFIELD - Goodbye District Tournament.

Hello Regionals.

The Bayfield High School volleyball team, with a scary performance in front of a spirited home crowd, celebrated Halloween 2009 on Saturday with three haunting victories and the championship of the Class 3A District 7 Tournament.

The Wolverines defeated, in succession, Trinidad, Lamar and St. Mary's of Colorado Springs to improve to a school record 21-0.

They blasted Trinidad, the fourth seed in the tournament, 25-18, 25-12, 25-21 in an early morning match.

They came from a set down to stun Lamar 18-25, 25-16, 25-13, 25-13 in the afternoon.

Then they hijacked highly regarded St. Mary's, the No. 2-ranked team in the state, 25-21, 25-17, 25-13 in a match that left the wild-eyed Pirates looking like they had just seen a herd of ghosts.

"Wow, wow. What do you say," a near speechless Kelley Rifilato said after daughter Gabriella Rifilato handed her the championship plaque amid the post-tournament celebration.

"This is about every single kid who gave everything," the Bayfield head coach said. "It's been a team effort all year, and this was a team effort." Coach Rifilato said the Wolverines entered the District Tournament with a goal of playing consistent volleyball with a variety of lineup combinations - and with fewer mistakes.

"We wanted to eliminate the errors," she said. "And, for the most part, we eliminated most of our unforced errors (Saturday). That's a big difference ... against good teams." Plus, she said, they wanted to play their customary floor-burn defense with more blocking.

Check, check and check.

"Our defense has really been there," coach Rifilato said. "If that ball was around, they got a finger on it. Shelby (Williamson) of course, does a great job all the time. And she and Jacey (Sirios) side-by-side, they can get to so much because they are so fast." The big boost in blocking for Bayfield came, indirectly, from an injury to the Wolverines' leading hitter, sophomore Katherine Rifilato.

With a right-shoulder strain limiting her swings, she was rotated into a role as a blocker and setter and occasional left-handed hitter.

"Katherine really helped our block. We turned into a better blocking team," Kelley Rifilato said.

That move shuffled Gabriella Rifilato, the senior co-captain, from her setter's position into a hitter's role. She found the perfect costume and blasted a tournament-high 54 kills masquerading as an outside hitter (with only 12 hitting errors).

"It's so awesome to have people who can flip-flop around to different positions," Gabriella Rifilato said. "And it's so much fun to play everywhere. It's hard (to defend) when you're switching setters and moving people around." Sirios, who saw duty as a back-row digger, an outside hitter and a middle blocker, agreed.

"We're used to it," the versatile junior said. "We all practice at different (positions). We always have." She said the Wolverines know they might have to step in anywhere and contribute.

They all offered contributions in the first match against Trinidad.

Senior Mikayla Moss served the Wolverines to a fast start with a pair of aces in the first four points of the match, foreshadowing a day of effective serves for Bayfield.

Williamson added an ace. Gabriella Rifilato added an ace.

Caitlin Simbeck hammered back-to-back kills, one each on sets from Katherine Rifilato and Gabriella Rifilato.

And the Wolverines were off and swinging.

They wouldn't trail until the third set of the opening match, and then only for a couple of fleeting points.

In their second match, the Wolverines battled a Lamar team that lost a five-set marathon to St. Mary's earlier in the day.

With a Regional playoff berth at stake, Bayfield shook off a first-set loss and came back with some familiar (and unfamiliar) weapons.

Sirios rapped a pair of kills, including a dynamic shot from the middle, to open the second set against Lamar.

Then coach Rifilato reached into her roster and pulled out a freshman, Kennedy Clark, who trotted onto the court for her first varsity action - ever.

She promptly pounded a series of jump serves, netting a pair of key points for the Wolverines.

Later, Clark added a rolling dig. And she finished the 25-16 victory with a jump-serve ace.

"I wanted something to replace Katherine (Rifilato's) serve, so I put Kennedy in there, and she got us a few points," the BHS coach said.

"And Brianna Cox ... oh Brianna Cox," Kelley Rifilato said.

"Brianna Cox served lights out. She's a player. She accepted her role. She gets up off the bench and goes in there and serves ... lights out. And with a smile on her face," the coach said.

"That's the way this team is ... the kids are genuinely happy for each other." With the momentum from the big win over Lamar, the Wolverines picked up the pace in the tournament championship against St. Mary's, which entered with a 21-1 record.

But the Pirates left 21-2 after the confounding loss to the multi-set Wolverines. St. Mary's led only in the early minutes of the opening set before falling victim to a service streak by Phelps, a barrage of kills by Gabriella Rifilato and the relentless cheering from the Bayfield High School student section.

The key play in the first set came on a sprawling dig by Williamson, which extended the longest rally of the match (which BHS eventually won on a kill by Gabriella Rifilato).

"Everyone plays every position on this team," said Williamson, who finished the day with 43 digs. "We practice in every single position." The senior defensive specialist said the Wolverines also had some special motivation against St. Mary's, a team that beat Bayfield in the state playoffs last year.

"We lost to St. Mary's last year, and that wasn't going to happen this year," she said.

"This team has been getting better and better," Williamson said. "Now ... maybe we can host Regionals." Bayfield will learn its Regional fate today or Monday when the four Class 3A Regional sites are selected by the Colorado High School Activities Association Volleyball Committee.

dstrode@durangoherald.com