San Juan Basin League rivals clashed on the volleyball court Friday night in Mancos.
The early season test for both teams came down to better execution.
Mancos already had a game under its belt. It was the first contest for the visiting Telluride Miners, a team the Lady Bluejays beat all four times last season.
Each squad is missing experience from last year, but Telluride has a little bit more this season. Miners seniors Emily Langley (middle blocker) and Genevieve Matamoros (opposite hitter) thwarted various Mancos rallies on Friday as the Lady Bluejays came up short, 3-1 (21-25, 25-22, 20-25, 16-15).
“I’ve got such a mixed age group out there. There’s freshmen under pressure,” Mancos coach Ramona Shepherd said. “I knew from the beginning that Telluride was going to be one of our toughest opponents. It’s just too bad it came so soon.”
Of the three sets the Miners (1-0, 1-0 2A SJBL) won, they got off to a fast start, which forced Mancos (1-1, 0-1 2A SJBL) to play from behind most of the evening.
In the first set, Telluride had match point up 24-16, but the Lady Bluejays roared back with five straight behind senior outside hitter/middle blocker Aimee Johnson, who is nursing a sore shoulder muscle, and upstart freshman outside hitter Courtney Colyer to get within three. The comeback came up short, though, after Langley, the tallest on the floor, spiked the winning kill.
The second set was a better start for Mancos, as it claimed an early 8-2 lead and never trailed. Telluride kept it close and tied it at 18. The Lady Bluejays regained the lead for good at 20-19 when senior setter Erica Blackburn spiked a perfectly placed kill after an intense rally on both sides. Up 24-22, Johnson hit the last kill to give her team the set win and a 1-1 tie at intermission.
After the break, the Miners dug Mancos into a quick 10-4 hole that the Lady Bluejays couldn’t fly out of. Down 22-17, Johnson and Langley exchanged two kills apiece, and a Telluride error made it 24-20. But Miners junior outside hitter Scout Franklin spiked the match point to put Telluride up 2-1.
The final set saw the Miners lead throughout. Mancos edged up close, but Langley and Telluride answered every Lady Bluejays threat to pull away for an 8-point set win to take the heated match.
“To come out, and be able to have the poise and confidence that they had in a really tight situation, I’m really proud of them,” Miners coach Fawnda Rogers said. “I think this is a good start for us, for our own confidence as a team.”
Johnson had a monster game for Mancos, recording a double-double of 23 kills and 17 digs. She had an overall percentage rating of 2.3. Senior middle blocker/opposite hitter Jacey Cox was a perfect 14-for-14 on serves.
“We came into this knowing it was going to be a really tough match,” Johnson said. “We definitely know what to expect now later. We’ll work on our serving. It definitely was not that great this game. We’ll work on that and definitely passing, and a little better defense for the future.”
Some of the poor play at times by Mancos was attributed to miscommunication on the court between the seniors and underclassmen.
“I was in their exact same situation three years ago,” Johnson said about her younger teammates. “Down the road, they’ll be able to talk more. We’ll learn to talk more. Communication is definitely a big thing.”
Shepherd feels her squad will mature as the season goes on.
“I look forward to meeting them again,” she said about the rematch with Telluride on Oct. 1. “It’s not so much the mistakes out there on the court, but those kids are still learning to get along with each other and play with each other. It’s hard for a freshman to deal with the pressure of varsity play.”
Mancos will resume action tonight on the road against a very good 3A Bayfield team at around 5:30.
Reach Bobby Abplanalp at bobbya@cortezjournal.com.