Serving accurately had been key for the Volleycats when hosting Dolores earlier this season.
To score points via aces? Certainly.
To limit No. 10 Erin Brown’s potential damage? Top priority.
“She can’t hit if she doesn’t have a set,” IHS senior Alexis Pontine said back on Sept. 21, on solving the Brown problem. “Erin’s a really good passer, so don’t serve it to Erin; they’ll then set her up and she can kill it on us. You just have to keep her out of system, and that will help.”
“We went for easier targets generally … to shut down their big hitter,” junior Laci Brunson had said. “That was our goal.”
Fast-forward to Tuesday at DHS where, on Senior Night, the Lady Bears’ serve-receive skills were sharp, allowing both senior Kamri Willbanks or junior Chandler Smith to tee up more and more balls for Brown – with crowd-thrilling carnage often the result.
“I feel like in the beginning of the season we had, like, two players that were leading us every game,” said Brown, another of Gina Hollen’s six varsity seniors and seven total. “Now I’m not nervous when I’m not in the front row or, like, when we’re in ‘this’ rotation; there’s always somebody that’s going to step up.”
IHS, perhaps even more so, needed such an individual with junior Harmony Reynolds out as a precaution with a right-ankle sprain suffered on the second-to-last point of Saturday’s loss at non-league 2A Sargent (25-14, 22-25, 14-25, 25-21, 10-15). Looking to the end of her bench, head coach Shasta Pontine in fact found two to step up.
Plucked from Cindy Valdez’s undefeated JV roster, senior Elisia Cruz provided a crucial confidence boost early with a solo block on Brown. The ’Cats managed to erase a 14-11 deficit, re-tie at 15 with a Lexy Young kill, then take the Game 1 lead for good at 18-17 with junior Grace Gonzales (13 kills, 15 digs) splitting a double-block.
DHS senior Autumn Gonzales brought the home team back to 24-21 by acing IHS libero Trinity Strohl (14 digs), but Brown then hit hard into the net, giving the guests the all-important 1-0 lead in the 2A/1A San Juan Basin League battle.
Gifted six of their first 10 points in Game 2 via Dolores miscues, Ignacio appeared in control after Pontine’s other surprise, Ollyvia Howe, landed an ace for a 9-5 lead and Willbanks netted a swing – pressing Hollen into taking a timeout. But IHS’ advantage would only increase, and peaked at 14-8 after Alexis Pontine blasted a kill in immediate response to a Brown bomb.
The Lady Bears clawed back to tie at 16-16 after an electric sequence of two Brown aces, a kill by sophomore Mikayla Puett, a Brown kill and a Grace Gonzales hitting error. And with DHS still holding a shaky 18-17 lead, Howe went back to serve and placed a tying ace.
Brown then hit long, giving the ’Cats the upper paw, and Howe nearly sent her side into celebratory orbit with an ace of Brown, followed by another unreturnable serve forcing Dolores to use a timeout. Ignacio would soon bring up game point when Gonzales served an ace and went up 2-0 in the match when Brown’s dig of a Pontine (14 kills, 22 digs) spike deflected into the net, not to be rescued.
“It’s definitely nerve-wracking,” Howe said, “especially since I’m a freshman. I get anxious, but it’s fun.”
“They’re doing great; they’re really learning their roles and accepting them,” Shasta Pontine said. “And for Elisia to come fill in when I need her … that’s really a growth piece. They’re just playing hard; it’s awesome.”
“Just get ready … be prepared to step on the court,” Cruz said. “I was nervous, but excited for me and my teammates to come together.”
The Lady Bears, however, would test that unity.
Beginning with senior Olivia Cosner’s block of Brunson (30 assists, 10 digs) followed by an Autumn Gonzales serve Young couldn’t field, DHS survived eight early ties and took the lead for good at 12-11 via a Brown kill. IHS rallied back to as close as 21-19, but Cosner aced Strohl to bring up game point and Brown violently blasted a kill through a valiant Young dig attempt.
Dolores would again strike first in Game 4, building a 4-2 lead before Ignacio regained it at 8-7 via another Cruz block. Right on cue, Howe forced one of her six aces through the top of the net. Brown then netted a back-row attempt, and Brunson all but bluffed a point away from DHS by faking a set tight to the net and then just letting the initial pass drift untouched into DHS’ court.
Hollen called timeout, but the Volleycats effectively managed to play keep-away the rest of the match.
Back-to-back Grace Gonzales kills put IHS up 21-16. DHS continued closing, getting as near as 23-20 when an over-energized Gonzales hammered a back-row shot long, but after Autumn Gonzales netted a free ball resulting from libero Valentina Tarini’s dig, and Ignacio’s Kacey Brown served long, the clash would end when Smith sailed a serve wide into a boisterous IHS bench.
“We were all just very emotional … and we were getting frustrated with ourselves,” said Puett, “but overall we played pretty well.”
“We wanted to win for the seniors, but after the crying – and knowing this is going to be my last game in this gym – it kind of took a toll,” Willbanks said.
Dolores dropped to 10-9 overall and 5-3 against the SJBL’s 2A programs, with the Gunnison Invitational up next on Saturday.
“It is what it is,” said Brown. “We pushed to five twice last week, it sucks we couldn’t do it tonight but. … It just gives us more things to work on for the postseason. Ignacio’s a good team, higher-ranked than we are, and it would have been fun to get the upset –especially going into regionals – but I feel we played to the best of our ability.”
Ignacio improved to 15-4, 8-0. It will end its regular-season at Rye Invite on Friday and Saturday.
“We just needed to get out of that funk after a two-loss streak,” said sophomore Solymar Cosio (5 solo blocks), alluding to setbacks at 3A Pagosa Springs (14-25, 16-25, 20-25) and Sargent. “I think this’ll definitely put some fire under us and get us going again.”
“We’re excited,” Grace Gonzales said. “We’re hoping we win all our games so we can host regionals for the first time; that’s our biggest goal.”