Last year, the Dove Creek High School team made a habit of winning. Three matches into this season, it appears as if that habit has rubbed off onto this team.
Winning for the latest time on Sept. 4, the Bulldogs beat Dolores 25-20, 12-25, 25-23, 25-18 in a non-league matchup.
After falling behind 2-0 to begin the first set, the Bulldogs began to pull together, using solid defense and timely tipping to open up a 12-7 lead. Dolores rebounded however, tying the set 18-18 on a kill down the line by Josie Majors.
A series of well-played points by the Bulldogs put Dove Creek ahead 24-20 however, before senior Ana Lee finished things up with hard kill off the hands of two Dolores blockers.
“We had some pretty big hits in (the first set),” said Dove Creek head coach Melissa Carver. “We kept moving our feet and we kept going after it.”
Opening the second set with renewed energy, Dolores got off to a fast start, pulling ahead 1-0 on an ace by Larissa Umberger.
Not long after, Dolores pulled away, reeling off seven straight points to pull ahead 19-10 before cursing to a 25-12 victory.
“We had a bad matchup that (set),” said Carver. “We changed things up in the third set.”
In the third set, the Bulldogs were led by Ana Lee, Joey Fisher and Kris Johnson, who all recorded several kills.
“We played our hardest (during the third set) and came out with the win,” said Johnson.
Looking to close things out in the fourth set, the Bulldogs battled the Bears two a 17-17 tie before a tip by Johnson ignited a 6-0 run that put Dove Creek up 23-17.
Although Dolores battled valiantly to stay in the match, a line violation on the Bears allowed Dove Creek to secure the victory.
With their record now at 3-0 on the season, the Bulldogs will return to the practice court to prepare for a road matchup against Newcomb on Sept. 11.
“We can still improve on our blocking,” said Carver. “That’s what we’ll work during the upcoming week.”