The Durango High School volleyball team is headed to the state championships for the first time in 10 years. The Demons entered Saturday’s Class 4A Region VI championships as the No. 19 seed but beat No. 31 Battle Mountain 3-1 and rallied to beat No. 6 Green Mountain 3-2 to advance to the state tournament.
“It’s really exciting,” said DHS head coach Kelley Rifilato. “I’m just proud of the girls.”
The Demons played Battle Mountain in their first game, but the Huskies took the first set 27-25. Durango, however, settled in and won the next three sets 25-21, 25-16 and 25-18 to set up a match with Green Mountain with the regional title on the line.
“We were a little nervous at the start, but we took charge,” Rifilato said. “Emma (Burns) was huge in that game, and so was Leah (Wolf).”
Burns had 10 kills to complement Wolf’s 21 against Battle Mountain. Sarah Somrak also had eight kills while Aava Drager had six. Eva Stewart had 37 assists while she and Somrak each had three blocks. Naomi Rowe and Aava Dreger both served three aces. Brooklyn Messier had 23 digs while Wolf had 11 and Dreger dug 10.
With a spot at the Class 4A state tournament on the line, DHS then faced Green Mountain. The Rams only lost one set during its 4A Jeffco league season and entered the match on a 19-match winning streak, including a 3-0 win over Battle Mountain, at 23-1 overall.
“Green Mountain looked like a college team,” Rifilato said. “They were big and very athletic and very strong.” The coach also said the stands were full of Green Mountain students.
The match was back-and-forth early, with Green Mountain taking the first set, 25-19, Durango winning the second set 25-19 and GMHS taking the third set 25-19.
In the fourth set, Green Mountain jumped out to a 5-0 lead and extended it seven points soon after.
“I think everybody thought we were done,” Rifilato said.
Durango, however, kept fighting.
“In that fourth set, we went into overdrive,” Rifilato said. “I told the girls, ‘We’ve battled this far together, we just have to keep battling for each point,’ and the momentum just swung.”
Rowe helped swing the momentum from the service line for DHS.
“The pressure she put on Green Mountain, she forced them to not be able to hit at the net,” Rifilato said. “That frustrates a tall team and got us a lot of free balls back, and we were able to get a lot of kills.” Rowe served 29 times in the match and finished with four aces.
GMHS led 23-20 late, but Durango completed its comeback to win the fourth set 25-23 and force a deciding fifth set.
The Demons then led the fifth set from start to finish and eventually won it 15-11 to win the region.
“Green Mountain had the largest crowd, and it was filled with students, but it was pretty quiet in the fifth set,” Rifilato said. “The girls were able to stay focused and didn’t let (the crowd) bother them.”
Wolf led DHS with 22 kills and 25 digs against Green Mountain. Somrak killed 12 balls.
“(Leah) did just phenomenal,” Rifilato said. “So did Sarah. She blocked a ton of balls and made some fantastic choices that kept them guessing.”
Dreger finished with nine kills, Burns and Stewart both got five, Anna Folk had four kills, and Anna Folk got one. Stewart also had 44 assists. Messier received 45 serves and only made two errors while also digging 24 balls. Dreger made 12 digs while Tyler Trujillo had 10.
“Tyler Trujillo went in and did a great job giving some people a rest,” Rifilato said.
Durango will now take a 19-6 overall record into the double-elimination state tournament and will be the No. 12 seed. DHS will play No. 5 Lewis-Palmer (17-8) in the first round at 9:30 a.m. Thursday at the Denver Coliseum.
“It’s a good draw; everybody is going to be good,” Rifilato said. “We just have to go out there and play our game.”
The Demons will have a send-off just before 11:30 a.m. Wednesday at DHS.
“There’s a quiet confidence in the girls; I think they feel prepared,” Rifilato said. “When a team denies them one way, they’re so smart they open their eyes and are able see what else is open.”
