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GLENWOOD SPRINGS, Colorado — Having already won three matches and six of six games going into Saturday's Demon Invitational volleyball tournament title match, Glenwood Springs hadn't really been tested.
That all changed as the Demons took the court against Class 5A Grand Junction.
Despite falling behind 1-0, the feisty Tigers dealt the 4A Demons their first true test of 2010. Somehow, Glenwood survived the test, winning the three-game final by counts of 25-19, 22-25 and 15-11.
“It was fun to see the girls work to win a game,” first-year Demons coach Sarah Ryan said. “That was the toughest [match] we played all weekend.”
The championship match win puncuated a 4-0 weekend for Glenwood, which took down West Grand, Meeker and Nucla in two games apiece. It also delivered the Demons their second straight home tourney title.
“It's really awesome to come back and win it for the school and our community,” said junior Lexie Warkentin, whose five kills helped the Demons past Junction.
Glenwood maintained a comfortable lead for much of Game 1 against the Tigers, building an 11-8 advantage before junior Cassidy Gaddis stepped to the service line and spearheaded a four-point rally — three on unreturnable serves.
The Demons' lead grew to as high as eight points (21-13).
Grand Junction responded in the second game, grinding out a close one that featured five tie counts. The Tigers used a late surge to even the match at a game apiece, rallying for four of the final six points.
Six tie counts awaited the teams in the decisive third game. A Grand Junction serve into the net broke a 9-all deadlock and the Demons rolled from there.
Glenwood won six of the next eight points — one of the six coming on a perfectly timed block by Anna Gauldin and Taylor Nicola — to claim the match.
“All in all, we finished high and that's what matters,” Warkentin said. “Sometimes, we lost our intensity and were a little bit quiet and weren't talking. Our last game, we were really loud and had high intensity. That's what made the difference.”
Not letting the match slip away after the Game 2 loss also impressed Warkentin.
“It was nice to show we didn't just give up,” she said. “We fought even harder and came back and won it.”
Grand Junction left Glenwood with a 3-1 tournament record and hoping the promising weekend leads to bigger and better things.
“I'm really proud of the girls,” Tigers coach Leslie Vines said. “We're coming off a kind of rough season and they're working hard. We've got a lot of work to do still, but it's good to see.”
Grand Junction hosts Moffat County on Thursday. Next up for Glenwood is a Tuesday trip to Coal Ridge.
jcaspersen@postindependent.com
That all changed as the Demons took the court against Class 5A Grand Junction.
Despite falling behind 1-0, the feisty Tigers dealt the 4A Demons their first true test of 2010. Somehow, Glenwood survived the test, winning the three-game final by counts of 25-19, 22-25 and 15-11.
“It was fun to see the girls work to win a game,” first-year Demons coach Sarah Ryan said. “That was the toughest [match] we played all weekend.”
The championship match win puncuated a 4-0 weekend for Glenwood, which took down West Grand, Meeker and Nucla in two games apiece. It also delivered the Demons their second straight home tourney title.
“It's really awesome to come back and win it for the school and our community,” said junior Lexie Warkentin, whose five kills helped the Demons past Junction.
Glenwood maintained a comfortable lead for much of Game 1 against the Tigers, building an 11-8 advantage before junior Cassidy Gaddis stepped to the service line and spearheaded a four-point rally — three on unreturnable serves.
The Demons' lead grew to as high as eight points (21-13).
Grand Junction responded in the second game, grinding out a close one that featured five tie counts. The Tigers used a late surge to even the match at a game apiece, rallying for four of the final six points.
Six tie counts awaited the teams in the decisive third game. A Grand Junction serve into the net broke a 9-all deadlock and the Demons rolled from there.
Glenwood won six of the next eight points — one of the six coming on a perfectly timed block by Anna Gauldin and Taylor Nicola — to claim the match.
“All in all, we finished high and that's what matters,” Warkentin said. “Sometimes, we lost our intensity and were a little bit quiet and weren't talking. Our last game, we were really loud and had high intensity. That's what made the difference.”
Not letting the match slip away after the Game 2 loss also impressed Warkentin.
“It was nice to show we didn't just give up,” she said. “We fought even harder and came back and won it.”
Grand Junction left Glenwood with a 3-1 tournament record and hoping the promising weekend leads to bigger and better things.
“I'm really proud of the girls,” Tigers coach Leslie Vines said. “We're coming off a kind of rough season and they're working hard. We've got a lot of work to do still, but it's good to see.”
Grand Junction hosts Moffat County on Thursday. Next up for Glenwood is a Tuesday trip to Coal Ridge.
jcaspersen@postindependent.com
