Basalt High School’s girls volleyball team evened up the season series with rival Roaring Fork High in Carbondale Tuesday night, taking the highly competitive match in three straight sets (25-21, 25-22, 25-20).
The host Rams held a 16-13 advantage in the second set, but the Longhorns came stampeding back to take the win. The Longhorns then opened a commanding 10-2 lead in the third set to keep the edge and hold on for the victory.
Roaring Fork won the first meeting between the two teams, 3-2, on Sept. 4.
Both teams currently sit middle of the pack in the 3A Western Slope League (WSL) standings, at 4-3 (5-6 overall) for Basalt, and 3-4 (6-12) for Roaring Fork. A run of wins through the final few matches of the season before the end of October could still land either team in the postseason.
The Rams are back on the home court Thursday against league foe Olathe (6pm varsity start), while Basalt hosts Gunnison, also on Thursday (6pm).
Ahead of Tuesday’s match, Roaring Fork picked up a pair of wins: 3-1 (25-20, 25-8, 25-27, 26-24) at Moffat County on Oct. 9, and 3-0 (25-23, 25-14, 25, 21) at Grand Valley on Oct. 7.
Against Grand Valley, senior Nikki Tardif led the team in kills with 11, followed by senior Yaki Hernandez with seven. Tardif also had six aces from the service line, while junior Ember Golden had five.
Basalt fell 3-1 at Coal Ridge on Oct. 9 (kills leader was senior Tahlia Ferguson with 10), and won 3-1 at home over Moffat County on Oct. 2 (junior Ellysia Guillonta with 12 kills).
Soccer WSL title in sight
A scoreless game until the final two minutes against 4A Glenwood Springs at home on Oct. 9 ended in a 1-0 loss for the Rams soccer team, but served its purpose as the Rams aim to secure the 3A WSL regular season title this week.
“It was a physical and high quality game, and a great tune up for playoffs,” Roaring Fork head coach Nick Forbes said of the loss to the Demons. “They played us hard and we had our chances, but couldn’t put them away.”
Junior goalie Quentin Galbraith recorded 11 saves on the night.
Queue up the always-tough Coal Ridge Titans at Rams Field this Thursday, Oct. 16 (6pm), which could determine the league champion.
Roaring Fork (7-3-1 overall, 4-1 league) comes into the matchup with the mathematical edge over Coal Ridge (8-3-1, 4-1). Steamboat Springs, also at 7-3-1 and 4-1, hangs in the mix.
“Thursday is a huge game for us,” Forbes said. “Coal Ridge has had great results against a lot of good sides and it’s a league game, so we have to win if we want to stay in the driver’s seat for defending the league title from last year.”
A win would also help boost the Rams in the postseason rankings. They currently hold the No. 12 spot among 3A teams, while Coal Ridge sits at No. 14 and Steamboat at No. 4.
“If we stay focused and play like I know we are capable of, we will be up to the challenge,” Forbes said.
Cross country
Racing at the Warrior Lincoln Park Classic Mountain States Challenge in Grand Junction on Friday, Oct. 10, Basalt senior Towler Scott earned an 11th-place finish and was the top 3A runner in a field that included some of the state’s best 4A and 5A runners. He covered the fast 5-kilometer course in 15 minutes, 15.69 seconds.
Levi Friday, a sophomore from Roaring Fork High who runs on the combined Basalt-Roaring Fork cross country team, placed 68th (16:58.17).
In the girls race, Basalt freshman Scarlett Jones was the top finisher for the team in 46th (19:12.54), while junior Sadie Silcox was 96th (20:46.59), and freshman Jude Tiernan was 105th (21:06.88).
The Longhorns are resting up this week, ahead of the Class 3A Regionals in Craig on Oct. 24, which will serve as the state qualifier.
State Mountain Biking Championships
Colorado Mountain College’s Spring Valley campus hosts the High School State Mountain Biking Championships this weekend, with freshman and junior varsity riders hitting the trails on Saturday, followed by sophomore and varsity riders on Sunday morning.
Colorado Rocky Mountain School’s Hazel Lazar enters the girls varsity race (11am Sunday) as the state’s points leader and a favorite to win the title.
Other local varsity riders to keep an eye on are Roaring Fork’s Quinn Carpenter among the boys (12:40pm Sunday) and Emmaline Warner in the girls race.
See the full schedule for the weekend, visit www.tinyurl.com/MountainBikeChampionship