RANGELY I The Rangely High School girls’ volleyball team finished its season at the district tournament in Soroco over the weekend.
The team played well and showed incredible heart as they came back from two games down to tie the match and force a fifth game against Vail Christian.
Coach Jimmie Mergelman said, “I was really proud of them, they showed a ton of growth.” She complimented the team’s heart and effort as well and said, “I thought all the girls played really well this weekend.”
The entire team played a part of the amazing comeback that nearly resulted in an upset for the Panthers. Leading the way serving were Simone Heilnle, who had 30 serves, as the entire team served 97 percent. Justyne Dembowski had 15 serves as did Sierra Brannan while Katye Allred added 13.
Katelyn Brown led kills with 10, followed by Lindzey Thacker with nine and Katye Allred with eight.
Justyne Dembowski played exceptional defense with 22 digs, followed by Thacker with seven.
Desiree Coombs played well at the net and Antoinette Dorris led in assists with 60 with more than 200 touches. Also setting the ball for the team was Brannan
Vail Christian won 25-20, 25-15, 26-28, 14-25 and 15-8, proving the Panthers had every chance to give up in the third game but didn’t. The team pulled together and made the match the most exciting of the tournament.
Rangely played Meeker in their second match, falling in games one and two before again making a comeback to win game three. The team again served extremely well, combining for 95 percent efficiency, led by Carrie Goddard with 22 serves, followed by Sierra Brannan with 14, Justyne Dembowski with 12, Simone Heinle with 11 and Kately Brown with 10. Brown led the team in kills with 14, Lindzey Thacker had eight and Katye Allred had seven.
Dembowski kept the ball alive, leading the way with 24 digs, Goddard had 18 and Brown had 15.
The team improved to a fourth place finished compared to a seventh place in the league last year.
Mergelman was appreciative of the entire effort saying, “Our upperclassmen did a great job of being leaders, and our freshmen that led the team in kills didn’t play like freshmen.”
“I am excited for what the future holds” the coach said.
