It took until the second game, but when she got going, Rhea Wortman showed why she is arguably the best player in the Intermountain Conference.

Behind Wortman’s stellar all-around play, No. 7 Crook County defeated Bend High 25-16, 25-14, 25-15 in a battle of IMC volleyball unbeatens Thursday at Bend High. The Lava Bears (3-1 IMC) played well at times, but struggled with their passing against Crook County’s tough service game.

The Cowgirls (5-0 IMC) jumped out to early leads of 8-2 and 23-12 in the first game, but Wortman, the reigning IMC player of the year, never got started. Seizing the opportunity was sophomore Angela Bailey, who had five kills in the first game and eight in the match.

Junior Grace Deboodt also drew the praise of her coach and teammates.

”It was nice to see Angie take over in that first game,” said Crook County coach Rosie Honl.

Added Wortman: ”She (Bailey) did a really good job and Grace Deboodt had an awesome night.”

Deboodt, a junior, was impressive on serve, going 12 of 12 with two aces.

In the second game, Wortman made her presence felt, hammering eight kills to go with two key blocks.

Wortman finished the match with 19 kills and 11 digs.

”Everybody is going to have a bad game once in awhile,” said Wortman. ”I came out a little slow, but once we got some momentum things really picked up.”

In the second game, Bend held a 5-3 lead, but after a Crook County sideout, setter Kimber Duncan ran off six straight serves to help the Cowgirls take a 10-5 lead. Later, after a pair of Crook County service errors, the Cowgirls ran off six straight points on Deboodt’s serve as they built a 19-7 lead.

”We are a tough serving team, the toughest serving team in the league,” Honl said. ”It is tough for them to pass off of our serve.”

For the most part, the Cowgirls looked sharp, but 12 service errors were a concern.

”Our team is really aggressive on serve and we did a good job tonight,” Wortman said. ”But when you are aggressive, you will have some errors.”

Duncan had 30 assists, five kills and was 14 of 16 on serve. Libero Heather Gerke was impressive in the back row, tallying 11 digs for the Cowgirls.

Bend was led by Kaytlin Van Burger with eight kills and two blocks, while Vanessa Wade added six kills. The duo looked impressive at times, but Crook County was able to keep the pair from getting many easy points.

”We knew they (Van Burger and Wade) were good,” Honl said. ”So we made an attempt to serve away from them so the pass wouldn’t be easy for Bend.”

”Tonight was a little rough, I think it is still a little bit mental,” said Bend High coach Nathan Fristed. ”It was just the little things. Once we get some more experience things will turn around quickly.”

Crook County is off until Tuesday, when they host Redmond. Bend is on the road Saturday for the Rogue Valley Tournament in Medford.

A.J. Tyvand can be reached at sports@bendbulletin.com.