A loss is a loss.
But Mancos head volleyball coach Brittany Lang called Tuesday’s loss to Norwood a good loss.
The Blue Jays entered the match with a 1-12 record in the San Juan Basin league, while the Mavericks came in with a 8-2 conference record.
Lining up across from Norwood’s 6-foot-1 power-hitter Macie Magallon, the Blue Jays could have easily packed it in.
With a handful of blocks and spikes, Magallon led the Mavericks to a 25-15 win in Game 1.
But then in Game 2, the Blue Jays came out fighting.
And with Magallon on the bench most of the second set, Mancos senior Taryn Gordanier took over.
Gordanier’s first kill of the game gave the Blue Jays a 7-6 lead, and she dropped in off-speed hits and powered in another spike to extend the lead to 12-8.
She had help from a Nicole Hess serve streak and a Mackenzie Benitez ace, and Jessica Gutierrez set her up for another spike to make the score 23-16 as the Blue Jays took Game 2, 25-18.
Magallon and the Mavericks responded for a 25-12 win in Game 3, but the Blue Jays jumped to an early 4-0 lead in the fourth game.
A string of errors helped Norwood even the score, before consecutive kills by Hess and Morgan Rose put the Blue Jays back in front, 16-15.
Trailing 21-24, Hess slammed a ball just off Magallon’s outstretched fingers, and Rose blocked a Norwood spike attempt to bring the Blue Jays within one, down 23-24.
However, an errant serve gave the Mavericks the game-winning point to take the match 3-1.
In a match that could have been over in three quick games, the Blue Jays clawed their way to a Game 2 win, and almost came away with Game 4.
Lang says the team can use the match as a confidence builder heading into their pigtail match with Telluride on Thursday.
“Just momentum, confidence, trust – all those big words,” she said. “We just need to carry on.”
Mancos plays at Telluride on Thursday at 5:30 p.m., with the winner moving on to the district tournament in Dolores on Saturday.
“We know how Telluride plays,” Lang said. “We play them a lot. They’re definitely beatable.”
