Lady Bulldogs show heart in hard-fought battle against Kit Carson

Heart. That's the word Head Coach Don Schelling used to describe the group of girls that made up the 2022 Haxtun Lady Bulldog volleyball team. The heart of the group was evident in Kit Carson on Friday as the Lady Bulldogs took the number two ranked team in all of 1A Colorado volleyball to three close sets in post-season action. While the Lady Bulldogs came up short, just two points in all three sets, and ended the season with a Regional appearance, Schelling is excited to see what is to come.

"This team played for each other and with their whole hearts," Schelling said at the conclusion of this year's season. "They gave 100 percent all of the time. They fought to the very end and never gave up."

That's exactly what the varsity team did against Kit Carson in game two of Regional pool play on Friday. First, Haxtun took on the Lions from Loveland Classical, sweeping the 23rd seated team in three quick sets. After a short intermission, Haxtun took the court for what would be a battle to the end with the home team Kit Carson Lady Wildcats.

The Lady Bulldogs started off slow against Kit Carson but came back to tie the first set at 11 with several back-to-back scrappy plays. Haxtun narrowed in on the gap but came up just shy of the first set, 25-23. The second played out different in the beginning as the Lady Bulldogs took a commanding 7-3 lead quickly. The Lady Wildcats battled back to tie the game at nine and would later take set two, 25-23. The third and final set proved to begin with the largest deficit of the three matches for the Lady Bulldogs. At one point Haxtun trailed by as many eight but with the heart described by Schelling, the team chipped away to keep the game close. In the end, Kit Carson came out with their third 25-23 set win in the contest to take the sweep and advance to the State Tournament slated for later this week in Denver.

"I'm most proud of how they never gave up, Schelling said of the contest against Kit Carson. "We were down 0-2 against and 15-7 in the third set. I took my last time out and they were all like 'we don't want to be done.' They fought back and ended up being ahead 23-22 in that third set. They never quit! All season, they never quit!"

Haxtun ended the 2022 season with an overall 13-12 record and 4-4 in league play. The team went 6-3 at home and 1-7 on the road and earned a 15th seed in the 24 team Regional bracket. Just eight teams advance to State following Regional play. Four others were added to the State bracket by means of wildcard selection.

Junior Cassidy Goddard led the Lady Bulldogs at the net in kills on Friday. She put the ball down 18 times throughout six sets in Kit Carson. Sophomore Bobbi Starkebaum added 17 kills followed by junior Megan Walker with 11, sophomore Maggie Kilgour with nine and junior Julia Freeman with seven.

Starkebaum registered seven blocks at the net, the team high. Goddard came in with four.

Two Lady Bulldogs served 100 percent in the first contest against Loveland Classical including Freeman and Goddard. From behind the service line, Starkebaum sent over five aces followed by sophomore Emily Anderson with four, senior Grace Gibson with two and Goddard with one.

In the back row, Walker put up 43 passes on serve receive and 22 digs on defense in the two match ups. Goddard registered 26 successful passes on serve received while also digging up 18 balls on defense. Gibson tallied 15 digs followed by Freeman and Starkebaum, each with 14. Freeman also registered 10 passes on serve receive.

Setter Kelsie Hadeen put 28 assists in the air for Lady Bulldog kills, leading her team in assists. Starkebaum added 18 sets to Bulldog hitters. Megan Walker chipped in four.

Schelling said one thing he will take with him about this team is the way they played together. "This was an all new team so it took some time to get things figured out but they supported each other so well and really played as a group," he said.

The 2022 Lady Bulldog roaster included two seniors, Gibson and Cassidy Goodwin, both of whom have played all four years on the court for Haxtun.

When asked what he will remember most about the team he coached in his first year at the helm of the Lady Bulldog volleyball program, Schelling said it will be the time spent in practice, "having fun and working hard."

"Every game past mid-season was fun ... watching them get better and grow together," said Schelling. "This is an amazing group of girls and I'm looking forward to seeing what they can accomplish."