{"id":37645,"date":"2022-10-26T16:45:24","date_gmt":"2022-10-26T22:45:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/mancos-volleyball-seniors-sparking-revival\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T02:39:04","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T08:39:04","slug":"mancos-volleyball-seniors-sparking-revival","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/mancos-volleyball-seniors-sparking-revival\/","title":{"rendered":"Mancos volleyball seniors sparking revival"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Mancos
Mancos senior Riley Cannon provides a strong leadership role for the Bluejays volleyball program.(Ben Bradley\/Special to The Journal)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

Step into the gymnasium for a Bluejays volleyball match, and perhaps the most immediate piece you\u2019ll notice is the lack of peace.<\/p>\n

As in, constant motion and chatter.<\/p>\n

The energy flows nonstop through the highflying Bluejays, who sit on the precipice of the program\u2019s best season in more than a decade.<\/p>\n

For a young team that plays a constant rotation of talented underclassmen, the Jays turn to a trio of senior leaders who have seen both the highs and lows of the past four years.<\/p>\n

Jessie Wallace, Shelby Jabour and Riley Cannon face graduation in spring, and the Class of 2023 hopes this season provides a fitting end to a wholesale revival for Mancos volleyball.<\/p>\n

\"Mancos
Mancos senior Jessie Wallace provides a strong leadership role for the Bluejays volleyball program.(Ben Bradley\/Special to The Journal)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Mancos
Mancos senior Shelby Jabour has helped guide the Bluejays to one of their best seasons in over a decade.(Ben Bradley\/Special to The Journal)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

\u201cThe atmosphere in the gym is totally different,\u201d said Cannon, \u201cevery girl wants to be here \u2013 and when we step on the court, we all have the same goal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Under second-year head coach Brianna Yeomans-Allison, the 2021 season offered a taste of what was to come for the Jays on the court \u2013 an energy that pushed the Bluejays to take more risks, keep more plays alive and celebrate each thunderous kill.<\/p>\n

The team cohesion \u2013 both in celebrating successes, and also managing through challenges \u2013 developed long before the first practices of 2022.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re such a tight-knit group,\u201d said Wallace, \u201cand we\u2019ve grown together since we started playing the sport in third grade.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOur focus is on making sure that the team atmosphere is healthy,\u201d said Jabour, \u201cand to have fun while we play.\u201d<\/p>\n

Across the board, the Bluejays utilize balance in both the attack and on defense. Wallace splits setting duties with freshman Aysia Mathews, and the duo have set the Jays up for their most prolific hitting season in the past decade. The team is hitting at a collective .178 \u2013 or better than one kill for every six attempts.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know that my role is to be able to trust my teammates,\u201d said Wallace, \u201cand that I\u2019m wanting to put them in the best position to put the ball away.\u201d<\/p>\n

Among those teammates looking to strike, junior Teya Yeomans ranks among the best in the classification in her hitting prowess, pacing the Jays in kills this season.<\/p>\n

That strong offense begins with a steady back line, where Jabour anchors a hardworking crew that aims to put the offense in the best possible position to collect the point. \u201cI love to dig in,\u201d said Jabour, \u201cand to keep plays alive that may ultimately end up with a kill \u2013 that\u2019s when all of our teamwork comes together.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Jays head into their final week of the regular season with second-place in the 2A\/1A San Juan Basin League assured, and a persistent climb in the 2A rankings to show for their efforts. Mancos rallied against 2A top-10 Sanford, winning 3-1, for their highest profile victory of the season, and now have an opportunity for another win against regional-caliber opposition when they travel to Colorado Springs for a regular-season capping tournament hosted by 3A St. Mary\u2019s.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur program has been really consistent, from C-team up to varsity,\u201d said Cannon, \u201cand we\u2019ve been able to reach our potential this year.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cannon stepped into a different role this campaign, seeing some limited varsity sets, but helping to guide the junior varsity program that continues to be the backbone of the program\u2019s future.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy leadership doesn\u2019t just have to be on the varsity level,\u201d added Cannon, recognizing how she could best contribute to the team, \u201cand it starts from doing the little things that the younger players are going to notice and want to continue over the rest of their time here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember as a freshman, I looked to the seniors,\u201d added Wallace, \u201cand now that I\u2019m in that role, it\u2019s fun to see our younger players grow \u2013 and to know that I helped them, and that they helped me get better.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wallace sees some similarities with herself and her head coach, \u201cWe\u2019re all really competitive, and we\u2019re all driven to get to the next level.\u201d That energy has been infectious, as the Jays swarm to the ball on every play, preserving points that they may have lost in previous seasons.<\/p>\n

With 14 wins and counting, Mancos already has their highest win total since a 20-win campaign in 2011, which also serves as the last time the Jays\u2019 program made the 2A state tournament.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe confidence has been one of the biggest differences,\u201d added Jabour. \u201cWe don\u2019t go into every point scared to make a mistake \u2013 we go in excited to make the play.\u201d<\/p>\n

All three Class of \u201923 student-athletes have visions of collegiate pursuits, yet their role in the Bluejays renaissance will carry with them.<\/p>\n

\u201cEach of them leads in their own way,\u201d said Yeomans-Allison. \u201cThey\u2019ve become leaders in ways that we need them to help guide our underclassmen. They\u2019ve helped this program by providing that steady leadership.\u201d<\/p>\n

Without a doubt, this year\u2019s seniors have made an indelible stamp on the direction for Mancos volleyball.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s all about effort and energy,\u201d said Jabour, \u201cand carrying that positivity through the good times and the tough moments \u2013 that\u2019s what we\u2019re wanting this program to be all about.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bluejays building confidence in banner year<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":37646,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[28,29,346],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-37645","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-headlines","tag-newsletter","tag-sports"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37645","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=37645"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37645\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":83728,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37645\/revisions\/83728"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37646"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37645"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37645"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37645"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=37645"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}