RANGELY I The Rangely High School volleyball team started its season off on the right foot with two wins over the weekend, defeating Caprock Academy and Hayden.
The team served an amazing 96 percent against Hayden with 75 serves attempted and only three errors.
Lindzey Thacker led the way with 17 serves, followed by Katye Allred with 13 and Halie Elam and Katelyn Brown each with 11. Thacker also lead the team in kills with eight, followed by Sarah Connor with six and Katelyn Brown with four.
Antoinette Dorris was the quarterback on the floor, delivering the ball 75 times with 15 resulting in kills.
The defense for the Panthers was led by Katelyn Brown with 12 digs followed closely by Justyne Dembowski with 11. Antoinette Dorris added eight digs, Katye Allred had seven and Halie Elam and Lindzey Thacker each added six.
The team defense seemed to be a major factor in the win for Rangely as they won the first game 25-18, the second 25-21, and never let the Tigers have a chance in the third game, beating them 25-5.
Rangely traveled to Grand Junction on Saturday to play Caprock Academy, and the distaff Panthers won the match in three straight games, 25-15, 25-13 and 25-22.
The team did not serve as well as they did the night before, but still managed 80 percent behind Katelyn Brown’s 18 serves, followed by Sarah Connor and Antoinette Dorris each with 12 and Justyne Dembowski with 14.
The team had another well-balanced offense with Antoinette handling the ball more than 70 times, resulting in 12 kills.
The Panthers host a varsity tournament this weekend with matches scheduled Friday and Saturday. Rangely plays Hotchkiss at 3 p.m. and Moffat County at 4:30 on Friday, and they will face off against Basalt at 9 a.m. and West Grand at noon on Saturday.
The junior varsity will travel to Grand Valley for a tournament there, giving every kid on the team a great opportunity for valuable court time.
The season looks very positive for the Panthers as they have the majority of last year’s team returning, and they bring experience to the floor this year.
The Panthers have an outstanding front line with strong hitters and defensive specialists who will be able to turn defense into offense.
