Gunnison volleyball drops two matches at state, but heads are held high

Rose Kowal, left, Natalia Sabino, second from left, and Gunnison teammates celebrate after a positive play in Gunnison's opening-round match of the state tournament on Thursday in Denver. Photos by Chad Richardson

Lindsay Hart never wants the Gunnison volleyball team to take a trip to the state tournament for granted.

The Cowboys second straight berth in the Class 3A state tournament ended on Friday. After a 3-0 loss to No. 8 Sterling (25-20, 25-21, 25-19) on Thursday and a 3-0 setback to No. 2 Resurrection Christian (25-11, 25-19, 25-15) a day later the No. 9 seeded Cowboys bowed out of the double elimination tournament which Eaton claimed 3-1 over Alamosa on Saturday at the Denver Coliseum. 

Because the foundation for continued success is in place, Hart said the potential exists for Gunnison to regularly challenge for a spot at the state tournament. 

“I want girls that work hard and achieve that Cowboy mentality,” Hart said. “We don’t give up without a fight. We play hard as a team and represent the school well. I don’t want to place expectations on a team that if we don’t make it to state it’s not a good season. But, I’d like to think we can make it back here every year because we have some solid girls coming down the pipeline.”

After a program-changing senior class played its last match and walked off the court in a Cowboys’ jersey for the last time, the underclassmen in that pipeline have a blueprint for success which they can follow. 

With coaching turnover rampant and success hard to find, Hart and the senior class stabilized the program and established a standard for future generations to achieve. 

“It’s incredible. I’ve never seen a group of girls work this hard,” said senior outside hitter Aubrey Welfelt. “Being here for four years, I could see the program change. We went from winning two games per season to winning almost 20. I’m so proud. Even if I didn’t get to play the last game. I’m so glad I got to be a part of this.”

A broken leg in the Sterling game meant Welfelt had to watch the last match from the bench. A player that lended pulse to the heartbeat of the program rebuild couldn’t take the court one last time. But she offered emotional support whenever possible.  

That’s something she said will always be there for her teammates and future teams. 

“The program is a legacy,” Welfelt said. “We won’t be playing but none of us will leave. We’ll be right there for the next group of seniors.”

It’s a bittersweet moment for Hart who was grateful for a senior class that transformed the Cowboys into a program that could be on the verge of being a Western Slope powerhouse. But it’ll be with a new cast of players. 

“This experience has changed my life and who I am as a person,” Hart said. “I wouldn’t be the person I am without this experience. Having them here through all that I’ve gone through, my own stuff and having those girls show up for me as players - that was really important. 

“You see them every day and it becomes part of your daily life. Not seeing them every day will leave a huge hole in my chest. Every year a team gets a piece of me and I think losing seniors every year is hard. But we have a ton of good memories together.

“We changed a program into something to be reckoned with.”

(James Nokes writes for Colorado Preps.)