ALAMOSA – The Colorado High School Activities Association released its preseason volleyball rankings on Aug. 15 and the Alamosa High School volleyball team found itself in the No. 3 position.
The Lady Mean Moose’s season began Tuesday at the AHS gym and they were looking to prove their high ranking against traditional power Manitou Springs.
Alamosa made quick work of the Lady Mustangs as it scored a sweep by scores of 25-7, 25-8 and 25-10.
“I think our preparation has paid off,” said Alamosa coach Annie Mortensen. “We’ve been active this summer and the girls have been working hard.”
Aubrey Rothermich gave the Lady Moose the early 1-0 lead, but Manitou tied the score. Alamosa then ran off five straight points with Morgan Ortega recording two service aces for a 6-1 advantage.
The Lady Mustangs scored two of the next three points, but the Lady Moose scored seven straight points with Kadie Hawkins recording two aces. After a brief Manitou side out, Alamosa scored four straight to push the lead to 19-4.
The Lady Mustangs were able to cut their deficit to 21-7, but the Lady Moose scored the final four points for a 25-7 win.
Addison Rice scored two aces to give Alamosa an early 2-0 lead in the second set. Manitou went on a 4-1 run to take a 4-3 lead, but the Lady Moose regained the lead at 5-4.
The Lady Mustangs tied the score, but Alamosa scored seven unanswered points for a 12-5 lead. Manitou cut the lead to 13-7, but the Lady Moose scored eight in a row with Taybor Wiedeman recording four aces for a 21-7 advantage.
Manitou had a brief side out before the Alamosa scored the final four points to take a 25-8 victory.
Garcia began the third set with two kills and two aces for a 4-0 lead. Manitou reduced the lead to 7-5, but Alamosa went on a 10-1 run to increase its advantage to 17-6. The Lady Mustangs got as close as 23-10, but Rothermich and Lily Heersink both had kills to wrap up the win.
Ortega led the Alamosa offense with 24 assists. Rothermich led in kills with eight, followed by Garcia with seven, Heersink with six, and Ortega and Wiedeman both with five.
The Lady Moose had 19 aces and were led by Wiedeman with five. Garcia had four, Rice and Rothermich both had three, and Ortega and Hawkins both had two.
“We’ve worked so hard on serving and serving aggressively,” Mortensen said.
Alamosa (1-0) will travel to the Greeley area to participate in the Eaton Invitational. The Lady Moose will play Mountain View and Longmont of Friday and the host team on Saturday.
