{"id":16127,"date":"2025-10-15T22:26:01","date_gmt":"2025-10-16T04:26:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/dolores-downs-dove-creek-to-continue-pursuit-of-league-title\/"},"modified":"2026-03-30T21:54:58","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T03:54:58","slug":"dolores-downs-dove-creek-to-continue-pursuit-of-league-title","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/dolores-downs-dove-creek-to-continue-pursuit-of-league-title\/","title":{"rendered":"Dolores downs Dove Creek to continue pursuit of league title"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Dolores
Dolores junior Kendall Chavez gets set to launch a serve in a match against Dove Creek at DHS Fieldhouse on Tuesday evening. Erika Alvero\/Special to The Journal<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

DOLORES \u2013 For Dolores volleyball, the 2025 season has been both familiar and brand-new.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a paradox junior Kendall Chavez embraces every time she steps onto the DHS Fieldhouse floor. While many of the same faces from her freshman and sophomore seasons remain on the Bears roster, sweeping changes to the coaching staff and varsity rotation have sparked a volleyball renaissance.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s been some adjustments, but for a while I was doing both club and high school practices \u2013 and so we\u2019ve carried over a lot from what we had been doing with Club Z to the high school,\u201d said Chavez.<\/p>\n

In recent seasons, the Bears were the hunters, chasing San Juan Basin powerhouses like Dove Creek. Tuesday night\u2019s 25-15, 25-11, 25-11 sweep of the Bulldogs signaled a shift \u2013 the Bears are now the team being hunted.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s put in our heads that we are that team now,\u201d said Chavez of the role reversal. \u201cSo we want to play like that team, work like that team, be like that team.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dove Creek (2-14, 1-5 2A\/1A SJBL) hung tough early, led by junior Mykaela Fury\u2019s high-energy play. But the Bears\u2019 power game \u2013 at the net and from the service line \u2013 produced several runs that kept the hosts in control throughout.<\/p>\n

\"Dove
Dove Creek senior Hadley Hatfield attacks the wall of Dolores junior Madi Thornbrugh in a match against at DHS Fieldhouse on Tuesday evening. Erika Alvero\/Special to The Journal<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

On their way to a 14-1 record, Dolores has dropped only four sets \u2013 three in their lone loss to Ignacio. That defeat, Chavez said, was a wake-up call.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was tough \u2013 we weren\u2019t communicating or playing the volleyball that we know how to play,\u201d she said. \u201cThat game has really made us work a lot harder in practice.\u201d<\/p>\n

First-year head coach Brianna Wyatt, who coached many of the Bears during the summer club season, has had the team firing since open gyms in the spring. Her system and expectations were familiar, making the transition seamless even with new players in the mix.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe started all the way back in April, and that helped us get closer as a team,\u201d said Chavez. \u201cAnd we\u2019ve not only developed our skills, but also a winning mentality.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dolores (14-1, 8-1 SJBL) gets its second shot at Ignacio on Oct. 28. Both teams rank in the top 10 of the CHSAA Seeding and Selection Index. Wins over Ridgway (Oct. 21) and Telluride (Oct. 23) would give the Bears at least a share of the league title.<\/p>\n

Chavez and her teammates are embracing the challenge. Most of the roster hasn\u2019t played in the 2A regional tournament, but they\u2019re eager for the opportunity.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt really gives us fire to keep pushing harder,\u201d said Chavez. \u201cWe all want it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dolores will test itself against playoff-caliber opponents outside of league play. A trip to northeast Colorado for a tournament hosted by Caliche awaits on Saturday, Oct. 18. Matches against Sanford and Crested Butte on Oct. 24 lead into the regular-season finale against Ignacio on Oct. 28 at 6:30 p.m.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

closing in on potential title-deciding match against Ignacio<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16128,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[38,39,28,37,36],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-16127","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-dolores-high-school","tag-dove-creek-high-school","tag-headlines","tag-mancos-high-school","tag-montezuma-cortez-high-school"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16127","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16127"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16127\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20761,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16127\/revisions\/20761"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16128"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16127"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16127"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16127"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=16127"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}