RHS wins on road, lose at home

RANGELY I The lady Panther volleyball team went on the road last Friday and won a match in Kremmling, then returned home and lost their first league match of the season to Meeker the following day. Rangely will go on the road again this week, first to Paonia Friday, then to Hayden for a match with the lady Tigers Saturday.
The long trip to Kremmling may have taken a toll on the lady Panthers as they lost the first game 14-25 to the West Grand Mustangs but they came back and won the next three and the match. Rangely went on to win the final three games by the scores of 25-16/26-20 and 25-17.
“We started out slow and then turned things around to win the match,” head coach Jimmie Mergelman said. “Quincey Thacker really stepped up this game and played well.”
Thacker led the team with 22 kills in 49 attempts and had three solo blocks, as did classmate Brittany Babineaux. Babineaux finished the match against the lady Mustangs with 12 kills.
Against Meeker, the games were close but Meeker won the match in three straight games.
“We were the first one to get to 20 in every game and then just could not finish,” Mergelman said of the three games, which all ended with a 22-25 score in favor of Meeker. “I think that in spurts we play well and then we let teams come back and get even with us and we panic and do not finish.”
The lady Panthers 7-3 overall and 4-1 in league play and they will get more opportunities to work on their finish this weekend in league matches in Paonia and Hayden.