Rangely lady Panthers go 1-2 in league matches

RANGELY I The Rangely High School volleyball team went 1-2 on the weekend, playing extremely well in the league match against South Routt County (Soroco), beating them in three straight games to claim the match.
Coach Jimmie Mergelman said, “We played really well this game from start to finish.”
The lady Panthers played the team currently leading the way in the Western Slope League on Friday and made the Paonia Eagles work extremely hard for their victory.
“I was pleased with our play,” Mergelman said. “They have a lot of good hitters and I thought our defense played really well. There were very few balls that just hit the floor.”
Mergelman complimented the defensive play of Carrie Goddard, who had more than 30 digs in the three matches, with 13 against Paonia. Also playing outstanding defense was Simone Heinle, who had 16 digs against the Eagles.
Despite near-perfect serving as a team, Rangely fell in four games to the Eagles. The Panthers showed their potential for a powerful offense against Soroco and Paonia, having more than 200 hit attempts, resulting in more than 60 kills in the two matches.
They have the tools to be successful as the season progresses, Mergelman said.
Rangely had a letdown, and did not play as well as they wanted against Hayden, losing to the Tigers.
This week, the Panthers will be back on the road Friday playing against Vail Mountain and playing at home Saturday against North Park with games at 1 and 2 p.m.