Also found at http://strosedenver.org/gvolleyball.html
St. Rose volleyball had a very successful year at all three levels. Varsity got to the championship game, before losing to a very skilled Guardian Angel squad. JV overcame an early season lack of players, and improved greatly through the season. JV also made it to the championship game, and lost a heartbreaker, 2-1, to St Anne’s.
Widgets probably came the farthest from last year though. Last year’s St Rose widget team didn’t win any games. This year, during the regular season, we fielded two teams, and each team finished 6-1. We combined the teams for the tournament, and the girls got off to a great start at 8 in the morning at St Therese, sweeping their first game over Annunciation. Neither game was particularly close, and all girls contributed. The second match started off well, as we won the first game over Loyola, and led 17-8 in the second game. Unfortunately, Loyola caught fire, and staged a big comeback, eventually winning the match, but all the Raiders should hold their heads high for having a great season and getting the semifinal game. Improvement was easy to see, and next year’s widget team will be led by a strong group of 4th graders, and next year’s JV team will have a very strong group of 5th graders to compliment the current 5th graders.
Our JV Girls were competently and enthusiastically coached by Yolanda and Joseph Handley this year. We had a hard time at the beginning of the season getting the required 8 players, and we played our first game with many of the girls not having practiced together yet. We lost that game 2-1, but then went on a roll, winning 6 of our last 9. The JV team had strong leadership from three sixth graders including stellar play all year from Marla L, but we also got very strong play from 5 5th graders, so the future continues to look bright for the JV team. Our girls beat Fatima and St. Pius to advance to the championship game at Machebeuf last Saturday morning. We got off to a fast start, and won the first game fairly easily over St Anne’s. St Anne’s bounced back well in game two though, so we went to a decisive third game. We battled early, but St Anne’s pushed the lead to 23-15 before we forced a side out. Alyssa A drew serving duties, and she served 5 consecutive points to bring the Raiders to within two, trailing 23-21. St Anne’s called a timeout, and after a rally, a Raider shot strayed wide left to give St Anne’s a chance to serve for the match, and unfortunately for the Raider faithful present, St Anne’s converted. From the humble beginnings of the first weeks of practice though, the JV team came a very long ways to finish within 4 points of the championship trophy.
Our varsity girls finished fourth last year in the tournament, and had the luxury of having the majority of the 8th grade girls playing together, and having played together for years before this year. From the beginning of the year, the goal of a championship was set and practice and games were focused on achieving that goal. I had the opportunity to practice with the girls a few times through the year, and they were having lots of fun and were always very supportive of each other. We went 7-3 during the regular season, with a few of the losses occurring during a week when some of our girls were ineligible. We opened the tournament with a home game against Notre Dame. It was the last home game for our 8th grade girls, and we came out a little flat, perhaps suffering from a little bit of in game nostalgia. After a timeout though, the girls came back on the floor and dominated, winning game 1 and then crushing Notre Dame in game 2. Big contributions were made by all, including Karen P, Valeria B, and Nohely N. We got a rematch against St Mary’s in the semifinal game, having lost to St Mary’s earlier in the regular season. After a close game one win, Raider confidence was high, and we won game two going away, setting up the opportunity to play for the championship. The championship game was played at Machebeuf Saturday morning at the same time as the JVs. Many Raider supporters were switching their heads back and forth watching both teams play simultaneously. When they watched the varsity girls in the first game, they saw the best volleyball from our girls all year. Serves were hit crisply, bumps were bumped with authority, spikes were spiked, and bodies were hitting the floor with abandon. Neither team led game 1 by more than about 3 points at any point, and unfortunately, we ended up two points short, 26-24. Game 2 slipped away a little bit, but every Raider played her heart out, and although we didn’t win the championship, we represented St Rose with great effort, dignity, and grace throughout the game and the season. Next year's 8th graders will be missed. 
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