RANGELY I The Rangely High School volleyball team won one and lost two matches over the weekend.
They began their Homecoming week by hosting Meeker on Thursday night, and it was clear the Panthers were ready to play. They jumped out to an early lead and won the first game 25-21.
Katye Allred proved she plays well in big games as she led the team in kills with 10, followed by freshman Katelyn Brown, who never backs down from a challenge, adding seven kills, six digs and nine serves in the match.
The intensity did not let up for the second game, but Meeker came away with the win 25-22.
Rangely fell in the last two games but came away knowing they can play with the top teams.
Justyne Dembowski was exceptional on defense, keeping plays alive with 21 digs, followed by Lindzey Thacker with 10 digs, five kills and 14 serves.
This set Rangely up for the highlight Homecoming match against the Bulldogs from Hotchkiss on Friday night. Once again, the Panthers came out strong, beating Hotchkiss in a great 28-26 first game.
The win was a total team effort as Dembowski, Dorris, Thacker, Allred, Goddard and Brown all served in the double digits, and the team combined for an impressive 91 percent completed serves.
Antionette Dorris had eight of her 40-assist weekend and came up with four digs. Dembowski led the team in digs with 13 followed by Brown with seven and Thacker with five. Allred had eight kills as did Brown, and Thacker had seven. The entire team played well as they won the second game 25-17 and finished off the Bulldogs in Game Three by a 25-20 score.
On Saturday, Rangely hosted Paonia, and the Panthers seemed fatigued from the long week and excitement of Homecoming. Paonia is an extremely tough team as they have been among the league leaders for the past three years, and this year’s team is solid.
Rangely fell in 25-9 in the first game, lost 25-16 in the second and fell 25-12 in the third for a Paonia sweep.
The Rangely team was led in serves by Dorris and Thacker with seven each, followed by Allred and Brown with six.
The team was led in kills by Katelyn Brown, who had six against an extremely tough blocking team, Thacker added four and Allred and Connor each had two. Dembowski and Brown each had six digs, and Dorris had 10 assists.
