Gore Rangers jump up to the 2A Slope

EAST-VAIL - Welcome to the 2A Slope, Vail Mountain volleyball.

The Gore Rangers may have lost six players from last year's state-semifinal team, but coach Mike Garvey thinks there's no better time than now for the program to jump up from 1A.

"We're excited," Garvey said. "We're hoping for a more overall consistent season."

Not only is Garvey looking forward to the higher level competition, but he's also pleased with the greater quantity of competition.

"We are playing schools with three teams (varsity, JV and development), so the long-term development of our program and players is going to be better," Garvey said.

And it's the strength of the program upon which the Gore Rangers will rely this year.

"A lot of people have asked me if we are rebuilding, said Molly Etters, "but I said no, because the program is still the same, and the work ethic is still the same."

While the Gore Rangers lost many heavy-hitters from last year, Garvey's confident that the kids stepping into starting positions will be ready.

"That's what JV is for," Garvey said. "These kids played all last year at the level they should have been playing and then (moved up to varsity) and played in the postseason for us. It'll take us a little time to understand what their expectations are as starters. We're ready to go."



Lineup

Etters will set for the Gore Rangers, who will play a 5-1 system (one setter, five hitters). Elsie Macsata, a left-handed hitter, will be on the right side, with Christiana White and Janelle Kibler-Silengo on the other side. Returners Della Elitch and Kelsey Ferguson will see plenty of time, and Garvey expects Ande Brill and Chanda Wilcox to come in off the bench.

At last weekend's scrimmages in Aspen, Garvey thought his team showed tons of promise.

"We learned that we need to develop an overall consistency," Garvey said. "A lot of the mistakes we made were simple mistakes - it wasn't in the complex part of the game."

Last year, the Gore Rangers cruised through league play, districts and regionals before facing stiff competition at state.

"The second day of state we ran into a couple of steamrollers, and we thought we were beaten by two strong opponents," Garvey said. "We set a goal at the beginning of last season that we didn't want to lose to anyone that was weaker than us. That standard is an easy one to follow. We'll see where we go with that (this year)."



Single look

Unlike last year, the Gore Rangers will only have one league match against each team in the league.

"We're used to seeing the same teams," Etters said. "But our experience will get a lot better reading a team and checking out how they are. We only play them once a season, so we don't have a chance to fix mistakes or realize what they be like. It'll make us bring everything we have for that one team."

There will be many new teams on Vail Mountain's schedule, but there will also be a few they've seen before.

"We've played Meeker and West Grand. We saw Rangely this summer and Hayden this past weekend," Garvey said. "It's not as if we've never played a 2A or 3A team. And we feel that good volleyball is good volleyball not matter what A it is."

As was the case in 1A, the Gore Rangers want to be a top-level team.

"The group has no interest in being average this year," Garvey said. "We want to go deep into the postseason."

Vail Mountain hosts league opponent Meeker today in a non-league contest at 12:30 p.m.

"They went to the state tournament last year, so we'll get a good indication of the top level of play in the league," Garvey said.



Sports Writer Ian Cropp can be reached at 748-2935 or icropp@vaildaily.com.



Vail, Colorado