Battle Mountain volleyball gets its first win
RIFLE — In volleyball, Rifle generally is the cure for all that ails you.
Battle Mountain’s spikers bounced back from a tough season-opening loss to Montrose by drubbing the Bears, 25-15, 25-20, 25-8.
“After our Montrose match, we used the week to sharpen our blocking and serve-return,” Huskies coach Jason Fitzgerald said. “We did see solid improvements in those areas. We also were able to play our entire lineup.”
Jordan Brant filled in nicely for Mackenzie Ellison, who was down with the flu, and middle-blocker Tesha Olsen had a career high in kills.
“It’s a good feeling for our girls,” Fitzgerald said. “It’s a confidence builder. Two years in a row we’ve battled back to get our record to 1-1. We’re experienced in the position and we’d like to keep the wins coming.”
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Battle Mountain opens league slate on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. against Summit County.
EAST VAIL
Hayden sweeps VMS
Vail Mountain School volleyball fell to 1-1 with a 25-20, 25-23, 25-14 loss to Hayden in nonconference play on Saturday.
“They were a solid team,” VMS coach Mike Garvey said. “They played well, but we simply made too many errors and gave away too many points, mostly with serving and attacking errors. I pleased with the play we played. We just couldn’t keep it in the court.”
VMS opens league play on Friday at Paonia, which would constitute a wee bit of irony. The Eagles beat the Gore Rangers in last year’s regional tournament, held at VMS. That ended the Gore Rangers’ chances for the state tournament last fall.
VMS then takes on Plateau Valley on Saturday, also on the road.
EDWARDS
Saints bow to Meeker
Unforced errors were the theme of the day for the local 2A schools.
Vail Christian volleyball saw its three-game winning streak halted in a 25-17, 25-19, 26-24 at the Wheeler Athletic Center on Saturday in Edwards.
“Just a lot of unforced errors,” Saints coach Cathy Alexander said. “We had great heart and great effort. As young as we are, we made mistakes. But we’ll learn.”
Vail Christian (3-3) hosts Rangely on Saturday.
Sports Editor Chris Freud can be reached at 970-748-2934 or via cfreud@vaildaily.com.
