RANGELY I The Rangely volleyball team concluded their season last weekend at the regional tournament. The Panthers were hoping for a different outcome and one more week of volleyball, however they should be proud of their accomplishments. The team had to fight hard in the previous two weeks of play to earn their spot in the regional playoffs.
Coach Dennis Rohn said of the weekend, “The weekend definitely didn’t go as we had planned. The first match was against Mancos and even though we lost, the games were really anybody’s games to win.” He was referring to the extremely close games beginning with a hard fought 27-29 loss in game one. Game two was not quite as close with a 19-25 score but the third game again required extra points to find a winner. The Panthers would not go down easy and took game three to 25-27.
Rohn said, “I told the girls that our first priority was Mancos and they played that way,” he added, “We played so hard in that first match and losing took a lot out of us.” The emotional and physical let down proved costly for Rangely as they lost to Meeker in their second match 22-25, 19-25 and 16-25.
It is always difficult to play the third match in a tournament formatted this way but the Panthers came out and beat Telluride in the first game 25-18 showing they are team with a great deal of character. They fell behind in the last three games 23-25, 26-28 and 10-25, ending the match. The two teams from the apposing district were the two advancing from our region.
Coach Rohn said, “I am so proud of these girls. Even though we lost three straight matches, I believe that these girls learned a lot.” He had only positive praise for everyone involved with the team this season and added, “This season has been full of lessons both for players and coaches. I am honored to be the head volleyball coach and proud to be labeled a Panther.”
The team banquet is tentatively planned for Nov. 21 at which time the individual awards winners will be recognized. Congratulations to the entire Rangely volleyball team on a successful season.
