The Pagosa Springs High School Lady Pirate volleyball team came back from being down two sets to none to beat the Montezuma-Cortez Panthers for their fourth win of the season on Tuesday, Sept. 22.
The Lady Pirates traveled to Cortez to take on the Panthers for the second and final matchup of the regular season for the two teams. The Lady Pirates bested the Panthers 3-0 the first time.
Through two sets, Tuesday’s match looked like it might end differently than the previous match.
The Panthers won the first set 26-24 and the second set 25-21.
Coach Chelsea Caler indicates she felt that the Lady Pirates were struggling to pick up some of the Panthers’ tips, rolls and deep corner shots.
But, with their backs against the wall, the Lady Pirates were able to flip the script.
The Lady Pirates won the third set 26-24, the fourth set 25-12 and the final set 15-9 to sweep the regular season series with Montezuma-Cortez.
“I think the biggest thing was that we finally settled down, cleaned up some of our defense and started trusting ourselves again,” Caler wrote in an email to The SUN. “The girls kept fighting, made adjustments in our lineup and stayed in it long enough to give ourselves a chance. Then we really turned it on in the fourth and fifth.”
Caler emphasizes that there were a lot of girls that stepped up in the match, specifically mentioning Saleisha Black, Malorie Morton, Sydney Plake, Avea Bruce and Darria Fiorenza.
“I’m especially proud of Saleisha, who came into a different role as a right-back DS and did a great job helping us pick up tips and keep balls alive,” she wrote. “Darria really held it down for us in serve receive and defense. Malorie came in with some clutch swings and blocks, Sydney found her rhythm offensively, and Avea had some really big swings for us when we needed them.”
Stats from the matchup were not available by press time Wednesday.
With the win, the Lady Pirates improved to 4-8 on the season. The sit as the No. 44 team in the state’s 3A rankings.
The Lady Pirates’ next game will be against the Bloomfield Bobcats on Monday, Sept. 28, at home.
The Bobcats are 4-6 and ranked 19th in New Mexico’s 4A division.
Caler indicates she is hopeful that her team can use the momentum they generated in their win over Montezuma-Cortez in the second half of the season.
“I think it gives them confidence that they can be down, make adjustments and still find a way to win,” Caler wrote. “We’ve talked a lot about learning how to finish and learning how to respond when things aren’t going our way, and last night they got a pretty good test of that.”
jsellner@orourkemediagroup.com
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