After a tense first day of play at State Volleyball in Denver, the Lady Grizzlies closed out Friday's competition with two wins, no losses.
Facing off first against the Dolores Bears, Fowler won the first set 25-16. Set two got off to a rough start with the girls lagging before finally tying up the score at 12 points. A point for point battle kept the crowd on the edge of their seats until Dolores finally claimed the win, 21-25. In set three, the Griz were holding on to a tenacious lead, 10-8 when Shelby Hartless hit a seven-point serving streak, clinching a strong advantage for the team. Kirsten Grasmick got in a couple of good kills and Fowler won the set 25-16. Set four started out in Fowler's favor but after tying at 6, Dolores took over the lead by five points, 6-11. Bethany Klinkerman, fierce on the front line, put down two blocks in a row and the Grizzlies' score closed in 11-13. It would be a battle after tying at 20, all the way to 24, until the Bears took the last two points to win 24-26. In the critical set five, Fowler got their feet under them and won the tie-breaker, 15-6.
Squaring off against the Burlington Cougars next, Fowler fought their way up from an 8 point deficit, eventually leading set one, 19-16. Bethany Moss dug in deep on the back row and the girls went on to win 25-22. The first three plays of set three were riddled with mistakes for Fowler, but they quickly recovered tying it up at 4. Feeding off tireless setter, Chelsey Wager, Moss dominated the front line sending in some great kills. Karlee Wager on the back line dug out several outstanding plays and Fowler won set two, 25-17. With victory in sight the Grizzlies raged into set 3 leading the game to point 10. Burlington took a brief lead at 13 then Fowler pulled away again 17-13, before slipping 19-22. Klink was on her blocking game and K. Wager served Burlington two aces in a row to bring the score back to a 22 tie. However, the battle would eventually go to the Cougars 23-25. Set 4 played out much the same way with a point for point battle giving neither team more than a 4 point lead at any time. April Gonzales nailed down a number of one-hit returns but Burlington would take this set too, 22-25. Once again facing a critical tie-breaker, Fowler battled hard and came out on top, 15-12.
Grizzlies next play Saturday morning, approximately 9 a.m. against Resurrection Christian in the final round of pool play before semi-finals begin in the afternoon. Both teams come to Saturday morning undefeated in playoff competition.
