DOLORES – From the opening serve of the season, the Dolores volleyball team proved they were on a mission.
Unbeaten nonleague schedule – check. San Juan Basin League title – check. Host a 2A regional site – check.
Now, the Bears can cross off “Qualify for State” on their to-do list. Playing in the tense environment that only postseason athletics can provide, the Bears refused to wilt under the pressure. Dolores withstood a stern challenge from No. 34 Wray before blowing past No. 22 Custer County in the 2A Region 3 tournament to secure the program’s first visit back to the 2A state tournament since 2019.
Having erased some of their early tournament jitters, the Bears eased to a two-set lead with comfortable 25-12 and 25-10 set victories in the regional-deciding match with Custer County, before the Bobcats made their biggest challenge in the third.
The Bears roared back from 18-14 down in the third set to tie the frame up at 20-all before junior Aubree Wyatt’s ace gave the Bears the lead. Junior Kendall Chavez restored the edge with a kill to 22-21, but the Bobcats countered to knot the score at 22. Freshman Addyson Wyatt drilled an attack down the line to restore the lead, before a pair of put down spikes from Chavez gave the Bears the opportunity to celebrate on their home floor and punch their ticket to the program’s first trip to the Denver Coliseum in six years.
While the Bears (24-1) cruised to their sweep of Custer County (16-9), they required a nail-biting finish to the opening set of the tournament to work their way past No. 34 seeded Wray (7-18). The Bears fended off two Eagles set points at the end of the first set, as junior Aubree Wyatt powered the Bears back level at 24. The visitors to turn away the Bears on their first set point opportunity, but a pair of hitting errors at the end of long points propelled the hosts to a 27-25 opening set win.
“Wray brought a lot of energy, but once our girls found that level of comfort, they started to get after it,” said first-year head coach Brianna Wyatt of her team’s response to a nervy start.
The second set started the same way that the first ended as the teams exchanged punches – leaving the Bears with a slim 17-16 advantage. Freshman libero Layla Mitchell made an improbable sprawling dig to sustain a point that ultimately ended with a Wyatt kill, and the Bears fed off the momentum swing. Wray struggled to handle a couple of Chavez kills, prompting an Eagles timeout with DHS up, 21-17.
The delay in the action did little to deter the hosts, as Mitchell went to the service line to tally a string of points to put the set away, 25-18.
“Layla really came to play today, she played relaxed, looked comfortable in serve receive,” said Wyatt. “She was fearless – I’m so proud of her.”
Dolores swelled with confidence heading into the third frame, as freshman Addyson Wyatt joined the list of Bears with big digs, while freshman Sophee Heaton, senior Taylor Erautt and juniors Madi Thornbrugh and Akaia Edwards walled off the Eagles’ attacks, building the Bears a 12-6 advantage, and the lead grew from there. A late Wray charge closed within 23-20 before DHS closed the door on the sweep with a kill from Chavez for the 25-20 clincher.
For Thornbrugh, the program’s primary setter during her first two years, adjusting to the new-look Bears meant a significant alteration to her role. Thornbrugh spent her club season learning the ropes of the right-side hitter position, while also gaining confidence as a primary blocker, even against girls several inches taller.
“Some skills formed through the club season, and I was able to merge that with my setting this year for the high school season,” said Thornbrugh, “I learned that with hitting, I needed to have a lot of mental toughness.” Thornbrugh, as her head coach lauded, has become a player capable of doing everything on the floor, evidenced by the junior ranking in the top four on her team in kills, blocks, aces and assists.
“Madi’s really become an all-around player,” said Wyatt. “She’s able to play defense, gotten good at getting her hands up, improved her setting – she’s excelled at all of it.”
Custer County knocked off Wray in four sets to create the winner-take-all drama in the regional finale, but the Bears made sure that there wouldn’t be any real threat from the No. 22 seed. The home crowd inside the DHS Fieldhouse roared their approval with each passing point that allowed the Bears lead to balloon.
“This is what I’ve wanted ever since my freshman year,” said Thornbrugh as the celebrations subsided and her head coach dried off after getting doused by the water bucket. “I’m not sure I could have imagined that we’d be here, but I’m so happy and blessed that we are.”
Dolores enters the 2A state bracket with the benefit of an opening round bye, which means they will open their tournament run on Thursday afternoon against one of the winners from the morning session – at press time, official seedings are still to be determined. Action from the Denver Coliseum will continue throughout the weekend, with champions crowned on Saturday afternoon.
“Many of us have played in big arenas before,” said Thornbrugh, alluding to the program’s club carryover and big match experience, “so I’m excited to see how we do – we’re hungry to win.”
