{"id":43609,"date":"2021-11-23T15:01:00","date_gmt":"2021-11-23T22:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/bayfield-cortez-players-join-forces-in-all-state-volleyball-match\/"},"modified":"2021-11-23T22:01:00","modified_gmt":"2021-11-23T22:01:00","slug":"bayfield-cortez-players-join-forces-in-all-state-volleyball-match","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/bayfield-cortez-players-join-forces-in-all-state-volleyball-match\/","title":{"rendered":"Bayfield, Cortez players join forces in all-state volleyball match"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Bayfield\u2019s
Bayfield\u2019s Annie Fusco, right, and Arvada Faith Christian\u2019s Anna Ruter crack a joke while waiting to play Sunday in the CCGS All-State Games Class 3A match, held at Fossil Ridge High School in Fort Collins. (Joel Priest\/Special to the Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

FORT COLLINS \u2013 Held Sunday in northern Larimer County, the Colorado Coaches of Girls\u2019 Sports All-State Volleyball Games more or less began the previous day, in a different town, with practice sessions and team photographs.<\/p>\n

And when three of the Intermountain League\u2019s top players entered the NORCO Volleyball Club facility in Loveland to make ready for the Games\u2019 Class 3A feature in Fort Collins, each couldn\u2019t believe they\u2019d been assigned to the same squad.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I walked into the gym and saw them both there, it was like a little comfort; I was like, \u2018I know these girls!\u2019\u201d recalled Montezuma-Cortez\u2019s Avery Wright, the league\u2019s player of the year. \u201cAnd we compete but we also play well together.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFeels amazing that I got selected, that my coaches and other coaches trusted me enough to be here,\u201d said La Jara-based Centauri\u2019s Hennessy Mortensen. \u201cIt\u2019s a real honor to carry on that legacy. People that I\u2019ve competed with \u2026 it was just amazing to see us working together.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI knew some (players) who\u2019d be up here, for sure, but it was cool to finally play with them because for four years I\u2019ve played against them,\u201d said Bayfield\u2019s Annie Fusco. \u201cSo it was, like \u2026 different connections we were making; it was a really cool experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

Playing for coaches Ben and Cara Reeser, both of Loveland Resurrection Christian, the IML trio and 3A-Red team found goings difficult against 3A-Blue, skippered by Arvada Faith Christian\u2019s Chris Powers and Amber Havekost.<\/p>\n

Emboldened by the vicious hitting of Lamar\u2019s Fernanda Merancio, Sterling\u2019s Emerie Rios and, ironically, RC\u2019s Jeorgia Jones, Blue would storm out to an 8-1 lead, take Game 1 by a score of 25-13, then withstand Red\u2019s best approaches in Games 2 and 3 to sweep a best-of-three match, with three games guaranteed.<\/p>\n

\"Bayfield\u2019s
Bayfield\u2019s Annie Fusco blocks against Loveland Resurrection Christian\u2019s Jeorgia Jones during the Class 3A volleyball game Sunday at Fossil Ridge High School in Fort Collins. The tournament was part of the Colorado Coaches of Girls\u2019 Sports All-State Games. (Joel Priest\/Special to the Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

\u201cWe were doing what we normally do, just at a higher level,\u201d Fusco said. \u201cWe were trying to work hard on our blocking, and they were just working around our block. It was crazy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t get to see a lot of competition like that in league, necessarily,\u201d Wright said. \u201cSo it was great to see girls throwing the ball down that hard \u2013 they reminded me a lot of club volleyball, like, when I used to play (defensive specialist). I wanted to play defense against them more in the back but unfortunately didn\u2019t get to.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Montezuma-Cortez's
Montezuma-Cortez's Avery Wright (9) snaps off a standing attack over Gilcrest Valley's Hallee Sherman (11) during the Colorado Coaches of Girls' Sports All-State Games' Class 3A Volleyball showcase Sunday in Fort Collins.<\/span>Joel Priest\/Special to The Journal<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Needed more inside the Fossil Ridge High School gymnasium as a weapon of attack along with Fusco, Wright would give Blue cause for a pause in Game 2, with a kill that gave Red an 18-17 lead. And though Blue would regain the upper hand, forcing Red to call timeout down 23-22, the match\u2019s designated visitors never went away \u2013 even after Jones destroyed a perfect set by Kersey Platte Valley\u2019s Cora Schissler to bring up game point at 24-22. FC\u2019s Catelyn Havekost then secured the win with an ace in the center of Red\u2019s back row.<\/p>\n

Fusco struck back early in Game 3, with a serve Schissler couldn\u2019t field even with a dive. Red would soon go up 5-3 when Havekost found herself aced by usual Faith teammate Anna Ruter. Blue would draw even again, but Red seemed to have an answer in the form of a Wright kill regaining a 6-5 advantage. And so things went until Ruter served an ace tying the score at 16-16. Her subsequent delivery unfortunately found the strings, giving Blue a lead they\u2019d hold until the end.<\/p>\n

Merancio brought up match point, 24-19, with a kill, and Sterling\u2019s Sydney Henry then slotted one past Fusco and Ruter.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a little overwhelming,\u201d said the jump-setting Mortensen. \u201cAnd I was really nervous at first, getting to know different people \u2026 but it was so much fun \u2013 more than I expected. I\u2019m so glad I got this opportunity. It feels awesome.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know if I\u2019ll be playing volleyball in college, so \u2026 to, like, say, \u2018This might be it,\u2019 it was a nice way to end it, I think,\u201d Wright said. \u201cPaired with Annie and Hennessy, both amazing players \u2026 it was just an amazing, like, last hurrah.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTo be recognized with the best of the best, it\u2019s really rewarding,\u201d Fusco said. \u201cI\u2019m appreciative of the opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Wright wrap up fall season in Loveland<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":43610,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[1871,28,29,345],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-43609","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-bayfield-high-school","tag-headlines","tag-newsletter","tag-volleyball"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43609","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=43609"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43609\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/43610"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43609"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43609"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43609"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=43609"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}