Vail Christian completes epic rally against Meeker to preserve 22-game league win streak

After dropping the first two sets of Friday’s game against Meeker, Vail Christian head coach Britney Branson told her team the same thing she said in the huddle during last year’s rivalry matchup.

“I said, ‘I hope you’re in for a long night,'” she stated after the Saints’ 23-25, 19-25, 25-19, 25-17, 15-11 come-from-behind win. The Saints pulled off a reverse sweep against Meeker last fall, too —their first win against the Cowboys since 2015.

“I think it shows a lot to be down 0-2 and battle back and win it,” Branson continued. “To do it two years in a row is pretty cool for this group.”

Friday’s league-opener was Vail Christian’s 22nd-straight win against 2A Western Slope opponents. Meeker coach Greg Cravens said his squad didn’t consider the streak as extra motivation.

“We always know when we come here it’s going to be a battle,” he said. “These guys do a great job of developing their setters, and then their offense just runs out of that.”

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Cravens’ description perfectly described his opponent’s first-set play. Vail Christian jumped out to a 5-2 lead largely behind Tenley Brasington’s setting up Mary McClarrinon. The Saints shifted from a 6-2 to a 5-1 system, allowing Brasington to rack up a career-high 40 assists.

“She was just setting us perfectly. We were being really efficient in our hitting with her setting and I felt like we were going on runs with her, so we made the move,” Branson said. “And then she went back on the serving line, got them out of system, got some aces.”

Vail Christian built a 21-16 lead before Meeker middle-hitter Reese Clatterbaugh came alive. The lefty’s powerful spikes proved to be the pinnacle athletic demonstration from either team and powered the Cowboys to a definitive 9-2 close and the first-set win.

“We’re working on getting a little wider angles on her, but she jumps really well,” Cravens said of Clatterbaugh, who finished with 13 kills. “If we can get her really good balls, she wails on it.”

The second set was déjà vu. Vail sprinted out to a 4-1 lead, it was back and forth to a 14-14 tie and Meeker closed with an 11-5 run. The Cowboys’ disciplined defense covered the Saints hard kill attempts and soft donut shots with equal efficiency all night.

“There’s times that the center of the court is open, but they just anticipate and read so well,” Branson said. “So our hitters just had to be good about hitting different shots and continuing to put pressure on them, hoping something fell — and it did.”

A see-saw third set saw the Saints cruise to a 10-5 lead, but the Cowboys clawed back again to make it 13-12. Behind Betty Bartok’s serving, the Saints 5-0 run seemed to put things away — until Clatterbaugh asserted herself again. The senior traded blows with McClarrinon, rocketing one up the middle to cut the deficit to three.

Meeker smelled blood. But Vail Christian senior Noelle Razee didn’t want her Friday night to end early.

“She’s been clutch,” Branson said of the outside hitter, who posted two kills to force a fourth.

“She has this cut shot down that she can go deep corner really well, but it’s awesome because she can also put pace behind the ball. She’s really been stepping up these last couple games.”

Meeker, however, refused to lay down. Libero Taylor Garcia racked up a game-high 37 digs as the Cowboys continued to shuffle and stifle the Saints in the next set.

“They had really good defense. Props to them,” said McClarrinon, who ended the game with 19 kills after finding her flow state in the fourth.

“It was like a repeat of last year,” the sophomore said. “Last year the fourth set was the best set I ever had in my life. I listened to my coach. She said, ‘broad jump, get it in front of you.’ And I did that and I knew I had to put balls down so that we could win.” 

McClarrinon catalyzed a 10-3 run early and posted three kills late to seal the set. Jessie Allen — who had 34 digs of her own — served the Saints through a critical 5-0 run as the home team gained steam and offensive confidence. The night had been long. The tide had turned. Somehow, Branson knew it would happen all along.

“For us to come out exploding in the first set, I was kind of like ‘we’re in this, we’re going to get this done,'” the coach said.

“I told them it was us. They’re outplaying us on some things, but we were also not playing our game in some of those first two sets,” she continued. “Once we took off, I felt very confident going into the fifth that we had the momentum. But I kept saying, ‘they’re going to battle.'”

Meeker burst out to a 5-2 lead in rubber match, but three McClarrinon kills flipped it to 7-6. Stella Hawkins — who finished with a game-high six blocks — brought fire to the middle, frustrating Clatterbaugh and the Meeker attack.

“Stella did so well,” Branson said of the sophomore. “She’s getting so much better at having more control with some pace.”

With the game tied at 11, Razee scrambled Cowboys with another cross-court kill, her 11th of the game. Meeker’s next attempt went into the net. Then, Brasington served an ace. Clatterbaugh received a quality look on the next possession, but spiked into the net to complete Vail Christian’s epic rally. After a night of high-quality high school volleyball, both teams were left admiring the other.

“I don’t like going down 0-2 to Meeker,” Branson said. “They’re just so good. They’re well-coached, they’re scrappy, the defense is just phenomenal.” 

“We have to get a little better defensively. My block has to be a lot better, but Vail Christian is as good as they always are,” Cravens said. “Hopefully we can both make it to regionals and go from there.”