The Pagosa Springs High School Lady Pirate volleyball team fell to 4-11 with losses in their last two games to league opponents Alamosa and Bayfield.
The Lady Pirates closed out last week with a game in Alamosa on Saturday, Oct. 3.
The Mean Moose came into the game with an 11-4 record and are ranked top five in 3A.
The Lady Pirates dropped the match to Alamosa in four sets.
After losing the first two sets 25-15 and 25-10, the Lady Pirates won the third set 25-23 before dropping the fourth set 25-8.
“We were able to take the third set from Alamosa, which was a lot of fun and a good confidence boost for us,” coach Chelsea Caler wrote in an email to the SUN. “We struggled more with serve receive and defense, and our hitters had a hard time finding a rhythm.”
Dawson Iverson and Ellie Vining led the Lady Pirates with seven kills each. Sydney Plake and Avea Bruce each had four kills.
Vining also led the team with six aces. As a team, the Lady Pirates had an 89.6 percent serve completion percentage.
Vining led the team with two total blocks.
Tatiana Monterroso led the team with 16 digs.
Liana Vega led the team with 17 assists.
“Ellie and Dawson did a great job keeping us in it offensively,” wrote Caler. “We’re still working on reacting quicker to tips, rolls and deep corner shots.”
The Lady Pirates were back on the court Tuesday, Oct. 6, for their second match against Bayfield this season.
Earlier this season, the Wolverines beat the Lady Pirates 3-0 in Bayfield and, on Tuesday evening, they beat the Lady Pirates 3-0 again, this time in Pagosa Springs.
The Lady Pirates lost the first set 25-21, the second set 25-17 and the third set 26-24.
Stats for the matchup were not available by press time Wednesday.
“Even though we lost, I was really proud of how the girls played together,” Caler wrote. “They were communicating, supporting each other and competing for each other.”
Caler also emphasizes that the girls made every adjustment that she gave them in real time, “whether it was on the block, shifting our defense, taking advantage of certain shots or serving specific players.”
The Lady Pirates are now two games into their final month of the season.
In order to keep the team focused for the final stretch of games, Caler notes that the team is going to build off the momentum and their ability to make in-game adjustments like they did against Bayfield.
The girls’ next game is on Thursday, Oct. 15, against Centauri in La Jara.
Action is anticipated to begin at 6:30 p.m.
The Falcons are 10-5 and ranked sixth in 2A.
“We’re past the halfway point, and the focus now is continuing to raise and hold our standards, stay connected and keep improving,” Caler wrote. “If we can keep playing for each other the way we did against Bayfield, we’ll be in a good place.”
jsellner@orourkemediagroup.com
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