MEEKER | The Barone Middle School seventh- and eighth-grade volleyball teams opened their season with a strong showing against Sleeping Giant on Aug. 23 at the elementary school.
The seventh-grade A and B teams made early statements in their first matches of the year. The A team swept its contest with set scores of 25-15 and 25-9, while the B team followed with a 25-9, 25-8 victory. Coaches praised the girls’ communication and smart plays, noting their ability to stay on the same page from the opening serve.
In their game against Sleeping Giant, the eighth-grade team dropped the first set but rallied to win the next two. Full scores were unavailable due to space limitations in the scorebook.
A few days later, both the seventh- and eighth-grade squads hosted Rangely in what turned into an instant rivalry. The eighth-grade A team swept the Panthers with set scores of 25-16 and 25-10. The B team nearly pulled out the first set before falling 25-27 and then 10-25 against Rangely’s A squad.
Eighth-grade head coach Jordan Brown said she was pleased with the results of early-season practice, particularly in passing and serve-receive defense.
“All teams played exceptionally well, demonstrating the results of our practice on making high passes and touching every ball,” Brown said.
Brown added that she has been especially impressed with serving.
“While serving hasn’t been a primary focus in practice, the girls showed great skill and consistency,” she said. “With their solid foundational skills already well-developed, we are optimistic and excited to see how this talented group of girls will perform throughout the season.”
Still, communication on the court remains an area for improvement.
“Both teams need to work on communicating more,” Brown said. “The B team played an excellent first set, nearly beating Rangely, but their communication broke down in the second set, and we also had several serve errors.”
After having last weekend off, the eighth-grade squads will return to their home court this Saturday to host another member of the cat family — the Hayden Tigers. Brown said this week’s focus in practice has been on sharpening offense and execution.
“We’ve been drilling specific plays, and I’m excited to see them executed in a game setting,” she said. “We’ve also spent a lot of time on improving ball placement and power at the service line, and I think we’ll be able to put a lot of pressure on the other team from the very first serve.”
Heading into Saturday’s match, Brown said the program’s primary goals will be improved communication and smarter passing, with an emphasis on achieving three touches on every play. Good luck to both teams this weekend as they take on the Hayden Tigers and as always go Cowboys!
By JARED HENDERSON |
