Having beaten Monument at the Lewis-Palmer Invitational just days earlier, Bayfield High returned to action Sept. 9 and took three of four sets to win its 3A Intermountain League opener on the road.
Resisting a 14-3 Montezuma-Cortez run that capped the Panthers’ Set 3 win, Bayfield outscored the home team 12-5 down the stretch to clinch a 25-23, 25-20, 22-25, 25-18 victory.
After regaining a 14-13 lead in Set 4 when M-CHS senior libero Keeley Clarke netted a back-row kill attempt, Bayfield (5-3, 1-0 IML) responded. Senior Grace Barber blocked M-CHS senior Siana Elliott, blasted a quick set from senior Avery Shipman through the middle, and scored with a tip shot into the Panthers’ softened center.
Clarke answered with back-to-back service aces, pulling M-CHS (6-5, 0-1) within 18-17. But after Barber and M-CHS junior TessaMercedes Jackson traded kills, the Wolverines closed with a 6-0 run, Barber holding serve for the final five points.
Panthers head coach Danielle Waltman used her final timeout after Barber split Clarke and senior Sarah Sparks with a back-row ace, then landed another too low for junior Anna Tewell to field. After the restart, BHS freshman Londyn Hollibaugh stuffed an M-CHS over-pass, and sophomore Kieley White Thunder tipped an unplanned set by senior Evelette Hollibaugh to bring up match point at 24-18.
Barber then smacked a serve that Sparks received, but it ricocheted back over the net to White Thunder, who put away the over-pass kill – sealing the win and shifting Bayfield’s focus to hosting defending IML champion Alamosa (7-1, 1-0) on Sept. 11.
The Panthers set the tone early, forcing a 15-15 tie in Set 1 before Bayfield broke loose with a six-point burst behind Evelette Hollibaugh’s serve. Errors allowed M-CHS to rally to 23-21, and Tewell tooled a kill off Hollibaugh’s block to cut the lead to one.
Bayfield junior Vivien Clance answered with a block-cracking kill but then netted her own serve, giving M-CHS another chance. Evelette Hollibaugh ended it with a cross-court kill to the far corner.
Bayfield led 4-3 early in Set 2 and stayed in control, despite M-CHS closing to 10-9. Set point came at 24-18 after Sparks netted a serve, but Jackson’s back-to-back kills kept the Panthers alive until Barber ended the rally with a kill.
M-CHS extended the match by erasing a 10-3 Bayfield lead in Set 3, tying it at 22 on a Jackson smash. Clarke’s ace made it 22-all, and she later served at set point, 24-22, after a Jackson tip. Her final serve forced Bayfield out of system, and Hollibaugh’s kill attempt sailed long – ensuring the Panthers avoided a sweep.
Coming up: Bayfield visits Pagosa Springs on Tuesday, Sept. 16. Montezuma-Cortez hosts PSHS on Saturday, Sept. 13, then 2A Mancos on the 16th.
