Yuma High School’s volleyball team likely will be traveling a good distance for regional next week.
The Outlaws enter the regular season finale Saturday at Northridge in Greeley with a 12-10 record. They entered this week No. 16 in the Class 2A CHSAA Selection & Seeding Index. The top 36 teams after the regular season concludes qualify for regional, with all league champions and the remaining high seeds to get to 12 teams will host three-team regionals. Each regional winner advances to the state tournament the next week in Denver.
With the way the Index shaped up earlier this week, it appears Yuma will have a healthy trip somewhere for regional, but also possibly with a fighting chance of advancing.
Yuma’s remaining opponent, Northridge, entered this week 4-17 and No. 50 in the 3A Index.
The Outlaws concluded Lower Platte play last Friday with a four-set win at Holyoke, 20-25, 27-25, 25,20, 25-17.
It did not start out well as Yuma was dominated in the first set. The Outlaws trailed by as much as eight points and never could get closer than four, though they started to pick up the pace late in the set.
It appeared Yuma might fall into a 0-2 hole, trailing by as much as four midway through the second set. However, the Outlaws got rolling, going on a 10-4 run for a 22-20 lead. Holyoke, though, came back to tie it at 22 and again at 24 before taking a 25-24 lead. Yuma was one point away from another loss when the Outlaws rallied with three straight points to escape with the 27-25 win.
Yuma eventually built a healthy lead in the third set, 20-13, before closing with the 25-20 win.
Now playing with confidence, the Outlaws kept rolling in the fourth, quickly taking a 10-5 lead and never trailing to close out the match with a 25-17 win.
Yuma finished 4-4 in the Lower Platte matches.
Caddis Robinson had a big day at the net with 18 kills, Alina Moran eight, Lauren Gonzales seven, Jailyn Mekelburg, Emma Rayl three, Cheyenne McCreath two, and Bailey Nighswonger one. Rayl had 24 setting assists, Robinson eight, McCreath four, Nighswonger four, Moran three and Gonzales one. Taryn Sheffield went 21-21 serving with three aces, Moran 17-19 with three aces, Chloe Smith 16-17, Robinson 13-13 with an ace, Rayl 11-12 with an ace, and McCreath 8-9 with one ace.
