COLORADO SPRINGS — There's nothing quite like a state volleyball title rematch.
When No. 4 Merino and No. 2 Fleming faced each other in the Class 1A championship during Season C in the spring, Merino came out on top in the 3-2 marathon. It came as no surprise when, in this go-round, they engaged in a tight battle once again at Broadmoor World Arena on Saturday night.
This time, however, it only took four sets for Merino to defend its state title.
“It’s so crazy. I can’t believe we were just here. I’m just so happy and thankful to play with my teammates. I love this group so much,” senior libero Amanda Thorpe said. “Every year that I’ve played, I’ve just felt like a sister with all of my teammates. It’s just crazy how connected we are and how much love we have for each other.”
Thorpe took it home with her smooth serving in crunch time. It helped, of course, that the Rams and Wildcats know each other better than most, having gone head-to-head many times during the regular season in recent years.
“It’s amazing,” head coach Christin Sutter said. “Fleming’s always a tough opponent, so you look forward to this and just want to enjoy the ride. It has been a ton of fun, so I just feel very blessed.”
The Rams took control early on when they stole the first set with a 25-21 final. They carried that momentum into a dominant second set, where they tamed the Wildcats with a 25-9 finish. Fleming, however, wasn’t done yet.
The Wildcats stormed back in the third set to delay Merino’s victory as they put up 25 points to Merino’s 18. The Rams put them away the frame after that with a similar score.
Now, the Rams get to return to their home in northeastern Colorado with another banner for their gym and a little more hardware for their trophy case.
“We have a lot of young and new players,” Sutter said. “We had some little baubles here and there, but they really just learned from every loss and every challenge throughout the season. It showed today that they kind of took all those little things that went wrong and turned them into something good.”
