Lady Panthers Lose Bid to Compete In State Championship; Finish Year With Stellar Record

Trevor Phipps

Due to the Lady Panthers’ stellar finish on the volleyball courts this season and their 8-1 overall record, they earned a spot at the Regional Playoff Tournament.

However, during the post- season tourney, the girls fell short of earning a chance to play in the state championships for the third year in a row.

The girls’ season was cut short due to a COVID scare so they were not able to play their final games that could have moved them up in the rankings. Therefore, the team missed their opportunity to host a regional tournament like they have done the last two years.

Instead, the ladies had to drive out to Palisade High School on the Western Slope area to compete in the regional tournament. The Lady Panthers started out tough and looked like they had a chance to play in the state championships during their first set of matches.

During the first round of matches that day, the girls took on the now 10-5 Falcon Falcons. The ladies were on fire to start as they easily won the first two matches.

But, when it came down to clinching the third for a victory, the Panthers fell short and just barely lost their third match. The ladies then came back swinging and scored a victory during the 4th game to clinch a victory that allowed them to move on to round two.

During the second set of matches, the ladies challenged the tough 13-2 Palisade Bulldogs. The girls played well but they were not able to pick up the “W.” The Panthers were instead defeated by the Bulldogs by winning three out of the four games.

Even though the Lady Panthers missed a chance to play in the big tournament, many of the players put up some good stats during the season. When it came to attacking this season, it is safe to say that senior middle hitter Trinity Mcabee led the team as she had 96 kills and 240 attack attempts.

The team captain Mcabee also looked great while serving the ball. Mcabee picked up 21 serving aces out of her 130 serve attempts. Outside hitter Allie Tring also came in clutch with 20 serving aces out of her 152 attempts.

Mcabee also shined when it came to blocking as she had 26 solo blocks and four block assists. Sophomore middle blocker Kyra Kidd came in second on the team with a total of 12 blocks.

When it came to the team’s defense though, Sophomore libero Sydney Roshek led the team by picking up 222 digs during the season. Tring was next best as she picked up 141 and junior outside hitter Grace McClintock came in third with 128.

Sophomore setter Giana Roskam proved her top-notch ball handling skills when she racked up 301 assists with 963 ball handling attempts. Senior setter Laura Ingalsbe only played part of the season due to being quarantined, but she still was able to hand over 73 assists.

When the ball was being served to them, several of the team’s players had three-digit reception numbers. Roshek led with 194, Tring landed 144, and McClintock snatched 131.

Now that the girls’ season is over, they must start focusing on next year. Since the season was changed this year due to the pandemic the Lady Panthers have a much shorter off-season as they need to be back and ready to hit the courts this September.

Girls’ Soccer and Boys’ Baseball Seasons Kick Off

Due to the coronavirus pandemic that struck last spring, many of the sports during the ‘20-’21 school year were shortened and altered. Therefore, the last spring season of sports was slightly delayed and just started last week.

The girls’ soccer team and boys’ baseball both started playing matches last Tuesday and their season is slated to run until the second week of June. Luckily, both local prep sports teams picked up a victory during their first match of their 2021 season.

The Panther baseball team glided over the 1-1 Sand Creek Scorpions by a 9-4 score. This week the team was originally scheduled to play three home games, but according to Athletic Director Joe Roskam the team got quarantined last week until June 11 due to a COVID-19 scare.

The Lady Panthers soccer team just barely squeaked by with a win last week when they beat the 0-1 Buena Vista Demons 3-2. The girls play again this Thursday when they take on the Harrison Panthers on the road.