MEEKER — “I’m blessed to have that much leadership in the gym,” Meeker’s head volleyball coach Christy Atwood said of her nine senior leaders.
Kelsey Brown, Marki and Sydney Cook, Jamie Gillis, Kelsey Kendall, Janae Kindall, Meg Nieslanik and Megan Ridings, will provide the leadership for the Cowgirls during the volleyball season.
“Our seniors really set the tempo for practice, they are incredible role models,” Atwood said. Six of the nine seniors will return with varsity experience. The Cowgirls finished fourth in the league and qualified for the regional tournament last year.
“We have some hefty expectations of ourselves,” Atwood said. “We know what we are capable of and where we want to go. It’s up to the players and coaches to get us there.”
Atwood, starting her third year at the helm of the volleyball program, expects the league to be competitive again with Hayden, both teams from Vail and of course, Rio Blanco County rival Rangely, all on the schedule.
“Rangely has a new coach (Jimmie Mergelman) but she has a lot of experience on her team and is going to be fine,” Atwood said of her county competition. “We’ll be in a tough league again.”
Meeker’s varsity will compete in the annual Glenwood Springs tournament this weekend, while the JV and freshman teams will host a tournament Saturday.
Kelsey Vroman and Roxy Chintala will assist Atwood with the coaching duties this year.
Meeker will host Moffat County Sept. 6, with all three teams playing, starting at 11 a.m.