Slowly but surely, the Dolores High School volleyball team has grown into a force to be reckoned with.
After finishing first at the District 3 Tournament in Ridgway on Oct. 25, the Bears earned the right to host the Region G Tournament, which will be held in Dolores on Nov. 1.
While several players contributed to the Bears success in the District Tournament, no individual made more of an impact than Courtney Blackmer, whose deft kills and timely defense aided her team.
"Courtney Blackmer had minimal hitting errors, and she stepped up her digging," said Bears head coach Gina Hollen.
After opening the District Tournament with a 25-7, 25-22, 25-22 victory over Mancos, Dolores defeated Telluride 26-24, 25-17, 25-22.
"We played all right," said Hollen of her team's first two matches. "Sometimes when you play down a little bit, you make some goofy hitting errors. The girls always stayed positive though, and they pulled through."
Closing out the day against Ridgway with the District Championship on the line, Dolores prevailed in a five-set thriller, 25-20, 23-25, 21-25, 25-21, 16-14.
According to Hollen, two key blocks by freshman Cameron Elder and several kills by Blackmer proved critical.
"It was definitely a team effort," said Hollen. "All the girls stepped up."
With their record now at 16-6 on the season, the Bears will turn their attention to the Region G Tournament, which will feature Dolores, Cedaredge and Mancos.
The Bears open the tournament against third-seed Mancos (13-9) at 9 a.m. before playing second seeded Cedaredge (19-4) at 1 p.m.
The winner of the Region G Tournament will advance to the Class 2A State Tournament in Denver, Nov. 6-8.
Live updates on all the action at the Region G Tournament will be available on Twitter @imac_34 and on the Dolores Star's Facebook page.