Volleyball on Track For State

Girls volleyball played successfully in their past two games.

With some successful sets, passes, and strikes the Lady Bulldogs are on track to possibly go to State. This past weekend, the volleyball team played against Summit with a well-deserved win of 3 to 0. This past Wednesday they played Glenwood with another win of 3 to 2. “It depends on how the rest of the season plays out, but we have a good chance of going to state,” says Kyra Birch. She’s a sophomore and plays varsity, but has recently been watching from the sidelines after a torn ACL accident. “It’s good, I’ve been learning a lot from watching volleyball and keeping score.” With 7 wins and 5 losses, the ladies have a clear plan to get to state. Lauren Hardin, a Junior, plays outside, middle, and sometimes right side hitter on Varsity. “I think as a team we played pretty well, we kept our errors under control and I think as a team we clicked.” Lauren goes into detail to explain how they had to keep their spirits up in order to win the 5th set against Glenwood. So far, the Lady Bulldogs are playing very well and hope to keep their winning streak. “I think there is definitely a chance we could go to state if we keep working hard and building our team dynamic,” Lauren says. Every day after school for around two hours the girls practice in the gym, putting in a large amount of effort and time to get where they need to be. Their next game is this Saturday, the 1st of October, against Montezuma Cortez for Varsity. Both the JV and C team have games against Battle Mountain and Steamboat Springs that day as well. To get ready for the packed gym this weekend, here are some key phrases and positions the girls will use to win:

Positions:

Setter – Main contributor to the offense of the team; sets the ball to prepare for spikes and hard hits

Outside Hitter – Lead attacker in offense; has to jump high, hits from a variety of angles

Opposite Hitter – Known as right-side hitter; has to receive the serve from the opposing team

Middle Blocker – The tallest player on the team; blocks the ball

Libero – Wears a different colored jersey; only plays on the back row

Defensive Specialist – Works well with the libero; focuses on ball control and passing; is able to quickly substitute any of the positions

Phrases:

Pass – The first contact after a serve 

Set – The second contact; usually made with two hands overhead

Hit/Attack/Spike – Typically the third contact when a player uses one open hands and swings at the ball to send it over the net

Serve – The very first contact that starts every match

Dig – The first contact made after an attacker from the other team sends the ball over the defensive team

Block – Move/contact made by a player at the net to prevent the ball from coming over by an opposing player

Rally – While the ball is in play