Vail Christian falls to Strasburg 3-1 at 2A state volleyball tournament

Readers will have to forgive the local sports reporter for his bias, but deep down, it feels hard to deny the notion that competition’s proverbial “bounces” never quite went Vail Christian’s way during the 2A state volleyball tournament. In the end, though, the No. 6-seeded Saints beat who they were supposed to beat and gave substantial challenges — albeit in losing efforts — to the team’s ranked above them.

“To be able to take Meeker the distance that we did was a huge accomplishment. Obviously it didn’t go our way, but it was something the entire team was really proud of,” coach Adina Petersmeyer praised, reflecting on both days of action at Denver Coliseum.

After an emotional and exciting rally fell two points short against No. 3 Meeker on Thursday night, the Saints experienced more heartbreak in the consolation round against No. 5 Strasburg on Friday afternoon, ultimately falling 19-25, 30-28, 26-24, 25-11 in the season-ending four-set loss.

“We really needed to close out that second set when we had our chances,” the coach said.

Throughout the first three sets of the Strasburg battle, it was hard to believe the Indians could have ever swept the Saints 2-0, which happened back on Oct. 22. Buoyed by its strong passing and serving — and a few Strasburg errors, Vail Christian controlled the action in its 25-19 first-game victory and then mounted a gutsy rally from down 22-24 in the second.

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“When those two things (passing and serving) are going well for us and we can get the ball into our system, we are usually successful,” the coach said.

Petersmeyer’s crew appeared poise to go up 2-0, but wound up trading match-points until finally, the game’s final ball deflected off of Maya Telles, securing Strasburg’s 30-28 marathon win.

“When we were not able to close out that second game, that was a turning point for us for sure,” Petersmeyer said, noting that throughout the year, dominating the first game and inexplicably letting up in the second had become an unfortunate trend for her squad.

“So that was something that definitely shifted. Instead of being aggressive, we were pushing and tipping the ball, which is actually not our A-game.”

Still, heading into the third, it seemed like the good guys possessed all the momentum.

“From our standpoint, we were ready to weather the storm because we had been in that situation so many times,” Petersmeyer said.

The start was proof, too, as Vail Christian held leads of 12-10, 20-17 and 24-22. Strasburg’s constant barrage of tipping, and the Saint’s lack of adjustments, however, would eventually give the Indians a pivotal foothold. In the volley that saw them take their first lead at 25-24, Saints outside hitter Grace Engleby hit the deck diving after one of those tipped balls.

“With Grace getting injured, that was a huge change of momentum for us and Strasburg pulled it together and started playing a whole lot better,” Petersmeyer said. Strasburg won the set, 26-24, and with the tide switched, pummeled the Saints, 25-11, in the final game.

“As we were losing our footing, Strasburg just gained theirs,” the Saint’s coach aptly summarized.

With the loss, Vail Christian ends its season with a 21-5 record.

Two words came to the coach’s mind when it came to her team: tenacity and heart. “That is what made it so special, especially with the large group of seniors that we had,” she said.

“Our tearful moments at the end were probably not so much about losing but about ending a four-year period of time on my part and their part.”