Two wins for MHS lady Cowboys

MEEKER I “Two wins on the weekend against two tough league teams,” coach Christy Atwood said of the impressive weekend for the Meeker High School volleyball team. The lady Cowboys began their weekend with Vail Mountain.
“We always anticipate that Vail Mountain will be tough at any point in the season,” Atwood said. Tough they were, but not quite tough enough to beat a scrappy Meeker team. Piper Haney led in digs with 29 and Aly Ridings had 27. Amanda Kindall demonstrated outstanding defensive efforts with five solo blocks and six assisted blocks. Jordan Brown also came up big for the team adding two solo blocks and seven assisted blocks for the two matches. A presence at the net was needed significantly as Vail Mountain had two powerful hitters.
In the first game Meeker jumped on the attack and beat the Gore Rangers handily 24-16. The momentum shifted in the second game forcing extra points and Vail came away with a win 26-24. Game three again went Vail’s way before Meeker took back control to win game four 25-20.
The fifth game elevated the noise in the gym and the level of play for the team. Hitters began to find holes in the defense. Taylor Neilson and Aly Ridings led the team with 14 kills, followed closely by Jordan Brown with 12.The momentum carried the team to a game five win 15-12 and an impressive finish to the long, hard fought match.
Atwood said, “The team played well and executed when asked,” adding, “Serving errors were again our nemesis.” However, senior Kaysyn Chintala found a way to serve well, totaling six aces and outstanding hustle keeping the ball alive on several occasions.
After a big win Friday night, the team traveled to Rangely for the annual county match-up. The teams both battled hard and kept all three games close. The Meeker team had to fight for every point and Atwood said, “The players felt like they were always scrambling, a tribute to the Panthers’ play.”
They stuck to their game plan going in, quickening their offense to beat Rangely in three games 25-22 in all three. The lady Cowboys have had a great deal of success against league teams and get a small break from an official league game this weekend, but not from tough competition. The always tough North Park Wildcats are on the schedule for this Saturday at 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. The girls know they have to be ready to play as Walden also beat Vail Christian over the weekend.