MHS volleyball falls to Telluride in final match

MEEKER I The Meeker girls’ volleyball team fought to the absolute end for their season, pushing the final match to five games before falling 12-15.
The lady Cowboys had an extremely long road trip to their regional site as they and Ignacio traveled to Telluride for the chance to advance to the 2012 class 2A state championships. They arrived early for their first match giving them the opportunity to watch Ignacio and Telluride play. This solidified their game plan and they hit the floor against Ignacio to start their tournament challenge. The slower tempo of Ignacio rubbed off on the Meeker girls early, as they struggled with the Ignacio offense being more tips then hits.
Meeker fell in the first two games of the match but regained control playing the style of volleyball that has been successful for them all season, with solid defense and back on the attack offensively. This brought the tournament to a one- match-takes-all finale between Telluride and Meeker.
Coach Atwood said, “To say we started the Telluride match slow would have been an understatement.” The lady Cowboys fell in the first game 6-25, but rallied back to win the second game and the third and fourth set were back and forth. The tempo and momentum would swing back and forth from team to team and the entire season came down to one game to 15. The teams went back and forth before Meeker gave up three points on hitting errors. They were able to recover to bring the game close, 12-14, but couldn’t hold off Telluride for the final point. The girls played hard and never gave up in the match.
“There is nothing about losses that are easy, this one will sting for a long time for many reasons,” Atwood said, adding, “My girls rallied at the end of the year, peaking when they should have and played the type of volleyball we had been striving for all season. I am very proud of every single one of them.”
The team would like to thank everyone who supported them, Atwood said.
“Thanks to the parents and fans that traveled endless miles to see us succeed! We would not have been able to reach our goals without their support and encouragement.” The team certainly has plenty to be proud of, giving everything they had in a regional match that could not have been any closer.