Sarah Trujillo, Gilpin County.   On Saturday, October 7th, the Gilpin County Eagles varsity volleyball team played against the Clear Creek Gold Diggers for their third time this season. In Gilpin and Clear Creek’s previous match, the Eagles lost to the Gold Diggers in four games at home. This loss then gave the team the drive they needed to come back and beat them in three at Clear Creek. The first set was 25-16 Gilpin, the second set was 25-22 Gilpin, and the third set was 25-23 Gilpin allowing them to take Clear Creek in three and go home with a victory.

This could have possibly been the Eagles last game of the season, but winning this game got them very close to going to regionals. Unfortunately they fell one spot short, but they finished off their season with a big win against their school’s biggest rival. Their coach, Alexis Donaldson, said, “this was the best the team played all year and even if they don’t move on to regionals, this was a strong way to finish off the season.” Each player played with the confidence they needed to dominate the court and get the job done showing their fans the level of volleyball they were capable of.

Nicole Adams and Bailey Hobson-Kroll led the team with kills, Adams with 8 and Hobson-Kroll with 6. The team served tough the whole match with a total of 5 aces, Hobson-Kroll leading with 2. The teams two outside players, Jasmine Crook-Arends and Hobson-Kroll led the team with a total of 34 digs between the two of them. As a whole, the team played spectacular defense and were able to run a quick offense allowing them to put the ball away and score points on their opponent.

With this win, the Eagles were able to bounce back to a team they lost to twice already and were able to take home a huge win. This game was a great way to close off the season for their two seniors, Courtney Holmes and Cheyenne Cowles, and left the Eagles feeling confident about their season next year.

(Originally published in the November 8, 2018, print edition of The Mountain-Ear.)