(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)
MONUMENT — Fresh off their first in-state loss in two years, the Lewis-Palmer Rangers were looking forward to getting back on track. But that task seemed easier said than done.
The Class 4A No. 2 Rangers (20-3 overall) took everything that 5A’s No. 5 Chaparral could throw at them and were able to escape with a 3-2 (25-13, 25-14 23-25, 23-25, 15-8) win.
“We realized after that Cheyenne game that we needed to serve better and pass better so we made some tweaks to our lineup,” coach Susan Odenbaugh said. “It’s a lineup that we hadn’t played before and I think what happens is you’re not used to playing next to people and so it’s paramount that you have good communication. I think our communication died at one point.”
For four of the Rangers’ seniors, there couldn’t have been a better send off. Nicole Mack, Tylar Fugate, Emily McCurley and Mariah Evans played their final regular season match and tried to take in the experience as much as possible.
“It was a blast, it means a lot,” Evans said. “It’s a big family here and we always have a huge crowd. It’s cool to be able to go out there and represent our school.”
Unforced errors doomed the Wolverines (13-6) in the first two sets as Lewis-Palmer ran away with scores of 25-13 and 25-14. Fewer errors in set three led to a much tighter score and giving Chaparral its first sign of life all night.
Sarah Vang contributed a clutch block followed shortly with a kill that kept the Wolverines in the set and helped them to a 25-23 win to avoid the sweep.
“They didn’t give us anything,” Wolverines coach Amanda West said. “We had to fight for what we got and they had to fight for what they got and I love volleyball that’s like that.”
Juniors Lydia Bartalo (14) and Michaela Putnicki (12) led the Rangers in kills, coming up big on the offensive end. Bartalo scored back-to-back kills in the fourth set to give Lewis-Palmer a 22-20 lead, but Chaparral was able to battle back and take it 25-23 to force a fifth and final set.
Putnicki and Elizabeth Reich connected on four straight kills for the Rangers in the fifth build a 8-4 lead and never looked back.
“We always want to get out there and battle against a great team like Chap,” Mack said. “We got really tense in that third game and had to come back out and focus on us and just battle.”
At a time when teams are hoping to be playing their best volleyball of the season, the Rangers have struggled in their last two matches. Odenbaugh stated early in the year that this team’s identity would be different from a year ago and that these battles against tough teams will only serve them well in the postseason.
“There are little things that we need to work on,” Odenbaugh said. “But these kids take pride in what they’re doing and the biggest thing that’s going to be a factor for us is that we have a week and a half without any competition before regionals.”
For the Wolverines, it was crucial to schedule a top-tier team as the playoffs approach and as far as West is concerned, there is no better postseason prep than the Rangers.
“(Lewis-Palmer is) someone that’s going to force you to fight,” West said. “We could find teams that we could just beat but I don’t think that’s necessarily what we need to do.”