Aspen volleyball rallies to beat Moffat in final home match

It was far from a championship match, but that didn’t stop the Aspen High School volleyball team from putting together a championship-level rally in its final home match Thursday against Moffat County.

“In rally scoring, it’s very hard to come back from that far,” Aspen coach Matt Bergdahl said. “In a match that’s not got any consequences, it’s good to see them answer the bell and get back after it.”

Aspen won the match, 3-1, inside the Skier Dome, an 11-point rally in the fourth set putting the match to rest. In that fourth set, the Skiers trailed 20-9 and a fifth set looked all but certain. However, one point led to another and another, strong serving improbably guiding Aspen back into contention.

The Skiers finally took the lead at 23-22 on a kill by Maddy Bergdahl and won the set, 25-22.

“We rode Mary (Williams) and (Leelah Ahumada’s) serving to the end. That was a big plus,” Matt Bergdahl said. “They showed some character. I’m pretty proud of them for doing that.”

After a slow start, Aspen won the first set, 25-17, but fell 25-21 to Moffat in the second set. The Skiers dominated the third set, 25-12, before they dug themselves into that huge hole in the fourth set.

“We changed the lineups tonight, so the mixing and the matching always cost you confusion points and communication points,” Matt Bergdahl said. “This was a tough match because it was way out of rhythm the whole time. The rhythm had us on the ropes.”

Aspen (10-9 overall, 4-5 league play) will finish its regular season Saturday with a four-match tournament at Manitou Springs. While the postseason is unlikely, any surprising victories over the weekend could make things interesting.

“If we can upset somebody this weekend, that might certainly open the door for us,” Matt Bergdahl said. “So that’s kind of what we are going down there for — looking for an upset.”

acolbert@aspentimes.com