Prep and College Sports Briefs

Bear spikers win, go 5-0 at Alamosa Tournament

ALAMOSA, Colorado — With a 5-0 run through the weekend’s Alamosa Tournament, Rifle’s volleyball team gained some much-needed confidence heading into 4A Western Slope League play.

The Bears beat Sargent, Centauri and Antonito in pool play and went on to defeat Centauri (25-17, 25-6, 26-24) again in the semifinal and Monte Vista (25-7, 25-22, 25-12) in the championship match to take first place away from Alamosa.

“They totally deserve this win,” said Rifle coach Geneva Farr, whose team didn’t win a league match last season. “They overcame a lot of obstacles, like winning the first game of a match and then turning around and taking two or three straight, and not dragging it out. Their confidence is coming up.”

Kalli Leigh paced the Bears’ net attack with 16 kills in the tournament’s 14 games. Brianna Bascom and Morgan Patrick each had eight kills and Abby Wrath five.

Libero Adrienne Schmidt finished with 28 savable digs.

Rifle will play host to Glenwood Springs Tuesday in the 4A WSL opener for both teams. The match’s start time is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.

Rifle softball team records split at Berthoud Tournament

LOVELAND, Colorado — Taking on some Front Range talent, Rifle’s softball squad came away from Friday and Saturday’s Berthoud Tournament with a 2-2 record.

The Bears beat Montrose (9-6) and Valley (6-5) and lost to Green Mountain (15-2) and Niwot (10-0) in a busy weekend on the diamond at Barnes Complex in Loveland.

Alisha Rodebaugh got the start in the pitching circle in each game for Rifle, which emerged from the weekend 6-4 overall.

Against Montrose, Rodebaugh made her presence felt at the plate, too, going 3-for-3 with two RBIs and a triple. Marissa Wilkins drove in a pair of runs in that one as well, and Courtney Cordova was 2-for-4.

Versus Valley, Rodebaugh had two more hits and two RBIs. The Meeker High School student, who plays at Rifle because her school doesn’t have a team, was 7-for-11 hitting for the weekend.

Eagles go 1-1 at AFA

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado — Colorado Mountain College split a pair of men’s soccer contests at the Air Force Academy over the weekend.

The Eagles opened with a 4-0 loss to Air Force Academy’s prep team and then bounced back with a 3-1 win over Western State that included a 40-yard free kick goal by Tyler Corbin.

Colorado Mountain College moved to 2-3 overall with the weekend split.

Grand Valley volleyball schedule tweaked

PARACHUTE, Colorado — Grand Valley is switching its volleyball schedule around a bit. The Cardinals, who were scheduled to host Olathe on Sept. 13, are now playing that match at Olathe. Also, the teams’ Oct. 7 meeting, originally slated to take place at Olathe, will now be played at Grand Valley.