“Tonight was the first time we really lined up on their hitters,” said DHS head coach Kelley Rifilato. “They hit a ton at the back row, but we were able to adjust. Brooklyn (Messier) read a lot of that and was able to dig.”
Messier ended up leading DHS with 20 digs in the contest.
On offense, Mason Rowland and Leah Wolf both had eight kills, Sarah Somrak added seven, Eva Stewart had five kills, and Riley Engle had four kills.
“We definitely had a balanced attack again,” Rifilato said.
Wolf served the first eight points of Game 1, getting an ace in the corner, kills from Rowland and Somrak and a block from Somrak as DHS built an 8-0 lead.
Josphine Balestri served five points late in the game, getting kills from Engle and Stewart, a block from Engle and a service ace to reach game point. Stewart then spiked the game winner to the floor for DHS.
In the second game, the teams were tied at 11. Durango, however, scored eight unanswered points to jump out to an 18-11 lead. Somrak started the rally with a kill for a side out. Then Stewart served seven straight points, beginning with an ace that was followed by a pair of hard-hit kills from Rowland.
Wolf scored the game winner, spiking a return from Grand Junction straight to the floor.
Wolf then started the third game with a kill and blocks from Somrak and Rowland DHS to go up 4-0. Durango led the rest of the way, getting a tip kill and a crosscourt kill from Stewart, in addition to kills from Somrak, Engle and Wolf. Rowland also served an ace that put DHS up 24-13.
Durango improved to 5-5 overall and 4-2 in the 4A/5A Southwestern League. Junction slid to 3-13, 0-6.
On Tuesday, DHS had a rematch with Pagosa Springs. After losing to the Pirates to start their the season, the Demons were the better squad this time around and won the match in three sets, 25-23, 25-18 and 25-15.
Late aces from Messier and Rowland helped DHS erase a 16-20 deficit in the first game.
Trailing 10-11 in Game 2, Wolf served five points for DHS, including two aces, to help Durango take the lead for good.
The third game was close early on. With a 14-10 lead, however, Wolf helped DHS extend the lead to 18-10 with more s... Click here to read full article
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