Emy Ludwig jumps to set the ball during District Tournament in Telluride. Telluride vs. Dolores. Telluride wins 25-22. (Photo by Dale Kondracki)
The Lady Mavericks have taken the 2010 season by storm, climbing to a nearly perfect 22-1 record and rising to the top of their 1A Mountain League. Last weekend, the girls solidified their supremacy by going undefeated in the District Tournament, winning a berth into the upcoming Regional Tournament as their league’s number one seed.
Norwood overcame both Nucla and Dove Creek in the District Tournament’s first round of pool play last Saturday in Olathe, going on to meet their league’s closest competitors, Vail Christian, in the championship match. Vail Christian came out strong, winning the first set. But as coach Sheri Hardman attests, Norwood is a team that isn’t willing to back down that easily.
“They have this ‘We’re never going to quit attitude,” Hardman says of this year’s volleyball squad, reflecting on the Lady Maverick’s 2010 record, with the team consistently winning, often against larger schools, despite falling one and even two sets to their competition.
The Mavericks came back in set two last Saturday against Vail Christian, taking the set all the way to 27-25 for the win. NHS starters Emily Winner, Lindsey Stindt, Katelyn Hardman, Shelby Brier, Harlie Williams, and Shania Snow kept the momentum going, finishing off Vail Christian in the next two sets to take the District Championship win.
It will be the first time in at least eight years that Norwood will be sending its volleyball team to regionals. “This team has been building for the last two or three years. The girls have continued to get stronger and acquire more volleyball skills… they just have this love of volleyball, and they get along great,” Hardman says of the secret behind NHS volleyball’s winning-est season in nearly a decade.
The Lady Mavericks head to the 1A Regional Tournament Saturday, Nov. 6, where they’ll face off against their league’s number two seed Vail Christian, as well as Sierra Grande and Mountain Valley. Games will be held in Gunnison.
Hardman says the team is keeping its sights set on the upcoming State Tournament, and so they plan to keep a similar game plan as they’ve used throughout the season thus far when they face their regionals competition this weekend.
“It’s going to be business as usual; we’re going to play the way we’ve been playing all along, since that has been working for us so far,” Hardman says.
This article/newspaper fails to mention that the Telluride Miners volleyball team also advanced last weekend out of their District Tournament and will be playing in their Regional (2A) this Saturday. Congratulations coach Rogers and team.
-John Wontrobski