Vail Christian defeats Buena Vista 3-1, looks ahead to Western Slope opener against Meeker
The Saints — who haven't lost a league match since Sept. 30, 2022 — open up the conference schedule against the Cowboys on Friday
Ryan Sederquist/Vail Daily
The Vail Christian girls volleyball team is taking some momentum into its league-opener on Friday against Meeker.
Noelle Razee had 13 kills and Jessie Allen totaled 28 digs to lead the Saints to a 3-1 win over Buena Vista on Tuesday in Vail.
“We adjusted our game plan and defense to what we scouted against Buena Vista and I felt like we adjusted to their offense very well,” head coach Britney Branson said. “So, that was exciting to see our team be able to adapt.”
Betty Bartok and Tenley Brasington tallied 15 and 12 assists, respectively, for the Saints, who improved to 5-2 on the season. Branson was pleased to see her setters lead the team in serving as well. Bartok had 23 total serves and both players notched a pair of aces as well.
“They did a great job,” Branson said. “One, with setting, but also just from the serving line, getting us the momentum and scoring points.”
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The Saints won the first two sets 25-23, 25-16 before dropping the third 25-9. Razee and Michelle Teague, who would finish with seven kills, helped the Saints close things out in the fourth, 25-19.
“She played phenomenal,” Branson said of Razee, who finished with an impressive .357 hitting percentage. “She hit so many different shots and read the defense.”
Branson said the intentional communication between her outside hitters and the players covering behind was key in the win.
“That’s exciting. It’s something we’ve been working on,” the coach said. “We obviously have some things that we’ve talked about from the beginning of the season that we continue to work on, and I believe they are getting better. And it’s showing in the match.”
Branson said her staff has been searching lately for more hitters to “step up and put balls away.”
“And I felt like we did that last night very well,” the coach continued before pointing to the play of seniors Siena Kassmel and Emma Adams as examples. Both came in for the final two sets. Kassmel provided a consistent presence on the hitting line and went on an extended serving run in the fourth.
“Which was huge,” Branson said. “And Emma stepped in in the back row towards the end of that set and made some great saving digs to allow us to win that fourth set.”
Vail Christian (5-2) sits at the 21st spot in the CHSAA Selection & Seeding Index as of Wednesday. On Friday, the Saints open Western Slope 2A play against 19th-ranked Meeker (3-2). Vail Christian went 14-0 in league play last year and hasn’t dropped a Western Slope 2A match since a 3-2 loss to Plateau Valley on Sept. 30, 2022.
“We’re going to be doing some scouting today and practice our game plan today and tomorrow to best prepare for them,” Branson said of the upcoming match against the Cowboys, who’d won 10-straight games against the Saints going back to the 2016 season until Vail Christian defeated them 3-2 last fall. “We) just continue to keep working on the things we need to get better at as a team to be successful.”
