FARMINGTON — For the second year in a row, Montezuma-Cortez High School was in the championship game of the annual Farmington High School Invitational volleyball tournament.

Last year, the Panthers won the tournament. This year they settled for second place.

In the biggest field yet (12 teams), the Panthers and Monument Valley, Ariz., met in the championship match after victories over Shiprock (15-13, 15-2) and Kirtland, respectively.

The Mustangs, the defending 3A state champions who returned every starter from last year, got the best of the Panthers on Saturday, Sept. 9, by beating them in three straight games 5-15, 7-15, 6-15. The win for the Mustangs was not only an early-season notch in their belt, but it also served as a way to get a little revenge on the Panthers for last year's FHS Invite.

Cortez beat the Mustangs last year (in the finals) in three, and the Panthers beat them easily. That was the only loss on the season for Monument Valley of Kayenta, Ariz. Cortez went on to finish in a tie for third place at the Class 4A Colorado State Volleyball Tournament.

The Mustangs staked their claim for revenge from the beginning as they took the first game 15-5 and won the second 15-7.

In the third and final game, the Panthers looked to prolong the game when they jumped out to an early 4-2 advantage before the Mustangs came storming back. Monument Valley scored eight straight points on the Panthers to take a 10-4 advantage behind the blocks of Yaanibaa Whaley and the kills of Fernanda Leonard and Kimberly Nash.

With the Mustangs leading 6-14, the Panthers made the final point difficult as there were four straight sideouts before a Panther hit went out of bounds to give the Mustangs the 2000 FHS Invite title.

"They (Mustangs) are just so strong," MCHS head coach Lindy Mortensen said in complimenting MVHS. "They are well coached and they don’t make many mistakes. They have one outstanding outside hitter who is very good. They earned most of their points. They hit the line well. Their serving was very good.

"Against Shiprock, we got off to a slow start. We came back strong and played like I knew we could in the second game," she said.

In pool play, the Panthers defeated Piedra Vista (Farmington), FHS JVs, Gallup, Ignacio, and San Juan High. Mortensen reported no team scored more than five points in any one game.

In other matches played on Saturday, Fruita-Monument, won the lower division title, played at Piedra Vista High School over Ignacio, Colo., 15-4, 15-12, 15-9. In the semifinals Ignacio beat Piedra Vista 15-7, 15-10 and Fruita bested Gallup 15-6, 15-4.

The Panthers will host San Juan High (Blanding, Utah) at about 5 p.m. Friday, Sept. 15, in Ron Wright Memorial Gym. That time is a change from the original schedule. The JVs will play at 3:30 p.m. in the gym and the "C" team will play in the Auxiliary Gym, also at 3:30, according to Mortensen.

Dolores opened the regular San Juan League season Tuesday, Sept. 12, with a win over visiting Mancos by scores of 10-15, 15-11, 15-7.

The Bears, who are the defending league champs, are off to a good start. Coach Joye McHenry had to sit out starting setter Sara Nielson for an injury. "We made a lot of setting mistakes," McHenry said. "That threw off our hitting." She cited the play of Jennifer Cross, Joni Everett, and Tracy Everett.

Nielson came in during the second game and responded with four kills. The middles came alive, she said, and helped the team win.

The Blue Jays had trouble with their serves in the second and third games. And the Jays also struggled with serve-receive in that game as well. Dolores will host league rival Dolores County at 5 p.m. today, Sept. 14.

The Blue Jays ended up taking fourth place in their annual Lady Jay Invitational Volleyball Tournament held all day in the Mancos Performance Center.

San Juan League rival Dolores won the tournament by beating a good Monticello, Utah, team easily in straight sets, 15-6, 15-8. The Bears finished second after pool play by beating Bayfield 16-14, 12-15, 19-17, losing to Monticello 4-15, 8-15, and then beating Mancos in three 14-16, 15-10, 15-8.

"I thought the girls played well during the tournament," McHenry said. "We made some mistakes but we are getting better. I was pleased the girls won."

During pool play, Mancos feel to the Buckeroos 10-15, 5-15. They lost to Bayfield 15-13, 12-15, 5-15. The lost to Dolores.

"Do you see a pattern here?" MHS head coach Mona Shepherd asked. "We play our hearts out the first game and win the first game and then lose the next two. We get the momentum and then lose it. I think that’s because of maturity and experience. But we also missed a lot of serves and that can throw you off."

The Blue Jays took on Bayfield for third-fourth place. The Wolverines stopped Mancos 15-9, 9-15, 10-15.

"We are not getting blown away. The girls are playing well at times but making some mental mistakes, like missing serves. I think we just seem to lose our mental toughness," she added.

Shepherd cited the play of Rachel Russell who blocked well and Katie Rosso who hit well. She also said that Katie Paxton played a very consistent game the whole tournament.

Lacey Morris has come down with tendonitis. Jori Yeomans did a good job subbing for her.

TELLURIDE — The Bulldogs played a much better match against a good Telluride team last Saturday, Sept. 9. The Bulldogs lost 6-15, 5-15.

"The scores don’t really show it but the girls played much better," DCHS head coach Scott Crawford said. "I thought this was our best passing game to date. We had to dig a lot of balls because Telluride has such a good hitting team. I thought the girls played with their most energy to date."

In the first game, setter Tia Wood made a nice service ace plus pair of kills and had two assists. Chrystal Neely made two kills and Shandra Johnson also made an ace, and she dished out a pair of assists. In the second game, Charlene Atkins and Johnson made a pair of service aces.