Panthers, Demons battle to three games before MCHS pulls out win

Panthers, Demons battle to three games before MCHS pulls out win

Sept. 27 2001

MCHS HEAD volleyball coach Lindy Mortensen talks to her girls Tuesday night after they lost a large lead in the first game against rival Durango in Ron Wright Memorial Gym. Montezuma-Cortez High School prevailed in that first game 15-12, lost the second 16-18, and thumped the Demons 15-4 in the final game to win the Southwest League match.

By Jim Thomas
Journal Sports Editor

"It isn’t over till it’s over."

That old sports adage certainly rang true Tuesday night, Sept. 25, in Montezuma-Cortez’ 15-12, 16-18, 15-4 win over Durango in a Southwestern League volleyball match in Ron Wright Memorial Gym.

"That’s volleyball. Even when we are way up on a team, I tell them there is not a team in this league who is out of it until it’s over. Even up 13-2 or whatever, I feel like we have got to play ball. They have got to play. There is no clock in volleyball,"Mortensen said immediately following the game.

It was like the Panthers toyed with the Demons as they could have put them away in two quick games.

In the first game with the Demons leading 1-2, the Panthers scored five straight points. Lindsey Wilson served several nice points. Stefanie Allison made a kill and Sasha Yarbrough had an ace as well during that run. Durango came back with a couple points which made the score 4-6. The Panthers then went on a five-point run to pull ahead 11-4. DHS called time-out to regroup. Instead of putting the Demons away, the Panthers started making some mistakes. Long hits here and there, bad serve-receives there, falling into the net, and DHS was right back in the game. They even took a 12-11 lead behind the serving of Maggie Wilson and successive kills by Alana Smith-Lowe. But with Allison serving and Casey Bauer at the net, the Panthers scored the final four straight points.

The second game was a marathon. Again the Panthers jumped out in front quickly. With Allison serving, Cortez took a 6-0 lead at which put DHS called time. A kill and a couple taps by Bauer helped the effort. With score 8-3, the Panthers pulled ahead 13-3 with Wilson serving. She made a pair of aces while the Demons nearly self-destructed. A few fans were chanting "Warm up the bus, it’s all over."

But as the old saying goes, "it isn’t over till it’s over." The Demons rallied. Blair Murphey made a block for a point, Smith-Lowe made a tip, Danica Erickson made a kill, and Sarah Seitz an ace. Before the Panthers and the home crowd knew it, the Demons had pulled to a 13-13 tie. Mortensen tried to regroup her team. MCHS pulled ahead 14-13 after a Demon hit went wide. Murphey’s killed tied the game at 14. A bad set allowed the Demons to go up 14-15 but another wide hit pulled the Panthers back to a tie at 15. Allison’s kill put Cortez up 16-15. The Demons tied it again at 16 and went up 16-17 after an errant hit. A double block gave the Demons the winning point.

This time the Panthers seemed tired of toying with the Demons and put them away for good in the third game. Although it got off to slow start for MCHS as they trailed 3-4. That is all the points the Demons would score the rest of the game. Steady serving by Yarbrough and Allison ended it. Yarbrough’s serving helped put the Panthers up 6-4. Allison’s serving put the Demons away. Of course, many of the Panther points came when the Demons made mistake after mistake after mistake. They knocked balls into the net, had bad sets, carried the ball, double hit balls, and made long or wide hits.

"I thought our girls hung in there. Sometimes it got frustrating when they were scoring off our mistakes. It’s one thing when they score on their hits and we are doing everything we can, but when we make mistakes and they score, that’s what I don’t like. But the girls always want perfection in their games. It’s hard to be perfect in volleyball, but I’m glad they are trying to achieve it," she added.

The Panthers traveled to Kayenta, Ariz., on Thursday, Sept. 20, but left the Navajo Reservation with its first loss of the season, 15-11, 12-15, 12-15.

In the first game, Monument Valley led 0-3 but the Panthers came back to pull up 4-3. It was tied at 5-5 and the score see-sawed until the Panthers finally pulled out the win. Game no. 2 saw the Panthers take a 4-1 lead. Monument Valley went up 4-6 but Cortez came back to lead 9-7. The Panthers continued to play well and apply the pressure to go up 12-8. But that was the last points MCHS would score. In the third game, the Panthers took a 6-0 lead. Monument Valley came back strong to tie the game at 7-7. Cortez scored the next four straight points but the Mustangs would not be denied the win.

"We really didn’t play very well," Mortensen added. "Maybe it will be a wake-up call for the girls. Monument Valley has a good team and they will be in the playoffs at the end of the season. They have a good team and tradition."

Cortez hosts Pagosa Springs at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 2, in a rematch from a nonconference game played at the beginning of the season which MCHS won 10-15, 16-14, 15-7 in Pagosa on Aug. 30. They return to SWL action Oct. 5-6 at Fruita-Monument and Grand Junction High.

Mancos is coming off a 15-2, 15-9 win at San Juan Basin League-mate Dove Creek Tuesday night.

Dolores defeated SJBL foe Nucla easily Friday, Sept. 21, on the road by scores of 15-6, 15-4.

The Bears’ originally scheduled game at home against Bayfield was moved from Tuesday to 6 p.m. today, Sept. 27. Dolores County was to be at home against Nucla Friday, Sept. 28, but now must travel to that town. The game that was supposed to be at Nucla on Oct. 20, the last game of the season, will now be moved to a home game, according to DCHS Athletic Director Steve Baroch.