"That girl," Head Coach Terene Foutz said afterwards, "has a 'switch.'"
And Tuesday night when it ultimately mattered most, it was truly a "kill switch" engage for Bayfield senior Kirstie Hillyer. With Division I-grade fury, she dispatched the ball, dooming Durango's hopes for a Pink Digs Game 4 inside BHS Gymnasium.
"I just wanted to be able to finish it for the team, and just end on a good note," she said.
Answering any lingering questions from the Wolverines' season-opening, 3-to-2 escape from DHS' DemonDome back on Aug. 28, Hillyer also hinted that she hammered down the contest's final set as much with her heart as her loaded right hand.
"My grandma had breast cancer, so I wanted to play really hard for her," she said. "And being that it was against Durango was even better because they're tough competition. Just being able to play against them was the highlight of the night."
But still just one of many.
During the match, former Wolverine Sam McClure's 'Pink Digs for the Cure' #3 jersey was retired. McClure's father, Dan, and former teammate/current BHS athletic trainer Brandi Calderwood accepted the framed jersey from Foutz, then presented it to Bayfield principal Leon Hanhardt and athletic director Rob Dean. Sam McClure, a former BHS standout, died of a rare cancer in 2007.
There were other touching moments, as well. Caitlin Phelps sent images from the evening to her cousin Aria Crane, who is being treated for lymphoma in Aurora. All of the positive energy proved beneficial for BHS in their 25-23, 25-20, 26-24 sweep.
"That was so much fun," said Phelps. "And it was great to see my cousin smiling on the other end of the phone-it was awesome!" The event raised more than $7,000 for services for local cancer patients.
Winners of 10 matches straight, Bayfield next gets back into their IML work tomorrow at Monte Vista. Ignacio High School plays its Pink Digs game at 11 a.m. tomorrow against Telluride at SunUte Community Center.
