Valor’s women volleyball team is now 4-0 after their latest victory against Mullen.

Valor is taking charge early in the season with two wins at home and two wins on the road. Finishing the last weekend with a win, the Eagles moved onto the match against the Mullen Mustangs on Monday.

A slow start from the eagles allowed Mullen to take a strong 13-1 lead but they fought back and lost 25-20. Winning the next two sets, 25-18, 25-22, the ladies needed to win just one more set but the mustangs out-muscled them winning 28-26.

Going into the fifth game, Valor had serve and took a lead, which then let them take the fifth match 15-9 which resulted in the Eagles winning the game. T

he next women’s volleyball game is Thursday September 12 at 7 P.M. Good luck to our lady Eagles!

On Tuesday the 3rd, the Eagles took on the Demons in some great softball action. On the mound for the Eagles was freshman Abby Zuschlag.

Abby had five strikeouts and went on to pitch all five innings to pitch a complete game. Abby pushed the Eagles to a great 14-2 win over the Demons.

She not only dominated on the mound but with the bat in her hands too. Centerfielder Makenna Roth said “Abby pitched a solid game.”

She also said “She was glad they battled back from a close game through three innings and got the bats going to take a dominating victory.”

The game went 5 and a half innings ending with the Valor Christian Eagles prevailing with a mercy rule victory. The team is now at a record of 5-3, and a record of three and zero in non-tournament play.

The bats really got going around the fourth and fifth innings. Every girl for the Eagles were hitting the ball and knocking in some runs.

The Eagles all together had a total of 10 hits and four stolen bases to help power them to the win. The defense was dominate and held the Demons to just four hits and two runs.

Monday afternoon, the Valor Christian tennis team took on the defending 4A state champions, the Cheyenne Mountain Indians, at Valor at 3:30 pm. Even though the Eagles came away with a disappointing 5-2 loss it was still an improvement from their performance against the Indians last year, which ended in a 7-0 loss.

Valor Christian’s head coach Bill Epping commented on this years defeat saying, “In our toughest test of the season the boys really stepped up and played the defending state champs well.” Both wins came from the Eagles 1 and 2 singles players, Erik Ratkelis and Jimmy Amundson. 3 Singles, Drake Bailey, battled hard but only came away with a 4-6, 3-6 loss to Will Geisz of Cheyenne Mountain.

Also notable, 1 doubles team of Michael Pistilli and Daniel Stephan lost in a heartbreaking 3 set match 6-0, 6-7, 7-10. The Eagles are still hopeful for the rest of their season as they prepare for next weeks loaded schedule as they play four different teams including 2 regional rivals.

Scores

1s: Erik Ratkelis def. Austin Hampton 6-3, 5-7, 6-2

2s: Jimmy Amundson def. Robbie Boe 7-5, 6-2

3s: Will Geisz def. Drake Bailey 6-4, 6-3

1D: Sessions & Connaughton def. Pistilli & Stephan 0-6, 7-6, 10-7 (t)

2D: Choe & Teo def. Case & Farmer 6-2, 6-3

3D: Moody & Ruppert def. Ratkelis & Lorden 6-2, 6-2

4D: Adams & Clancy def. Wynja & Hurtle 6-0, 6-0

Mullen freshman softball pitcher Allie Reynolds was named female co-athlete for the month of August by the Centennial League.

Allie pitched 19 innings, posted a 1-1 record by beating Cherry Creek and pitching an outstanding game against top-ranked Eaglecrest. She had an ERA of 1.84 with 13 strikeouts.

The night started with massive bolts of lightning thundering across the sky accompanied by a few sparse showers, causing an hour and fifteen-minute delay to the start of the game. Both teams were antsy to begin, burning off nervous energy and trying to contain their pregame jitters and excitement. Finally the all clear was given and both teams rushed onto the field to complete their warm-ups and pregame routines.

Immediately following the starting whistle both teams exploded with energy all the way through the first half. In the first ten minutes Valor keeper Connor Georgopulos completed a fantastic one arm save headed straight for the right corner of the net and proceeded to punt the ball to the other half of the field, riding the developing wind to place the ball near the forwards and forcing Pine Creek’s defense to take a few steps back. The Valor Eagles were very solid as an attacking unit, “but tonight we were not at the same standards were we have been, probably because we played in a defensive formation instead of an attacking formation,” remarked head coach Brian Shultz. “Actually I would say that is one of the things we need to do better next time.” Both teams utilized their respective forwards’ quickness with deep passes through the defensive lines and using headers to position and pass the ball to the point they wanted. With two minutes left in the first half number eight of Valor Christian, Ian Crawford, received a yellow card amidst a mass of noise from the stands and the benches. Both teams pushed hard leaving the halftime score zero to zero.

The stating whistle pierced through the air signaling the second half being underway. Soon after number fourteen of Pine Creek, Nico Farley, received a yellow card for an alteration with one of the Valor Eagles in a fight for the ball. The pace of play began to heat back up. Valor keeper Georgopulos saved two blisteringly fast strikes from entering the goal with fast hands. Georgopulos had a great leg all night, constantly ramming balls downfield off of punts, goal kicks, and penalty kicks. With seventeen minuets left number ten of Pine Creek, Alex Cullen, made a brilliant shot to the right upper ninety dropped in from around top left side of goalie box. After the goal the pace of play changed slightly until about eight minutes later when a massive punt downwind by Pine Creek keeper number 1, David Meyer, bounced deep in Valor territory. Pine Creek forward Michael Steffy battled with defense to a last second lob over Valor’s keeper bringing the score to two zero. Both teams persevered through the final ten minuets though despite Valor’s best efforts, the score remained Pine Creek Eagles two, Valor Christian Eagles zero.

A goal for the Valor Eagles as the season progresses “In terms of on the field,” remarked Shultz, “We’ve been knocked out of the playoffs three years in a row in the first round and so the guys are adamant that number one, they return to the playoffs and two, get deeper.”

Tuesday, September 3, the Valor Christian Eagles took on the Green Mountain Rams in an exciting volleyball match at Valor. It was a rematch for the Rams as Valor has taken the win the previous two years. In the past weekend, the Varsity team went on a retreat in the mountains where they bonded and became better friends. This helped them increase their trust and communication, which would carry them later in the match. After a weekend away, the Eagles were excited to get back on the court to challenge the Rams. The first set started out slowly as both teams got warmed up, but resulted in a win for the Eagles 25-16.

The Rams took the second set 25-23, although the Eagles fought hard. Motivated by the crowd, Valor came back to win the third 25-21 with great offensive play by senior Kate Gibson and junior Cassidy Wurth. The fourth set was close as both teams played well, making for a very exciting and suspenseful match.  Although Green Mountain won 25-23, Valor showed incredible defense by senior Katie Bradbury and senior Carli McNeily throughout the match. With a win at stake, the Eagles turned on their game once again, increasing their focus.

They entered the set and immediately scored some important points from their tough serves, bringing them the momentum they needed. As they increased their communication and intensity they pulled out a 15-7 win in the fifth game. Overall, Valor presented their hard work and perseverance, demonstrating the teamwork needed to beat a talented team such as Green Mountain. With a 3-0 win last week against Conifer and a 3-2 win against Green Mountain, the Eagles are prepared to play Dakota Ridge this coming Friday. Go Valor!

Last Tuesday, the Valor Christian boy’s varsity tennis team took on the Golden Demons. The Valor boys came away with 3 singles and 4 doubles wins sweeping the traveling Demons. The number 3 singles player Drake Bailey and number 2 singles Jimmy Amundson came away with tough three set wins. All other teams won in 2 sets including all doubles teams and a one singles win coming from Erik Ratkelis: 6-1, 6-0. The varsity tennis team will play against Cheyenne Mountain High School, the defending 4A state champs on September 9th at 3:30 here on campus.

On Saturday August 24 2013 the Valor Eagles squared up against the formerly 29th ranked team in the nation, the Central High School Grizzlies. After a disappointing first drive by the Grizzlies, the snap to the punter was overshot which led to a Valor recovery very close to the goal line. Even though the eagles did not score a touchdown on this drive, Paul Grizzle, the eagles kicker, shot a 41 yard attempt through the uprights putting them up 3-0.

From then on, it was all Eagles. In the first half the Grizzlies fumbled the ball 3 times and did not capitalize on 3 4th down conversions. However, the Eagles played a very clean and well tuned 3 quarter game with few mistakes before the game was called due to lightning. The final score was 31-7 and the Eagles exited their season opener with a victory. Two notable players were Christian Mccaffery and Sharif Williams. Christian Mccaffery accumulated 172 yards and 3 touchdowns in the game and was the star of the show for the eagles. Sharif Williams, versatile tackle for the grizzlies and Arizona verbal committee, was forced to exit the game with about 2 minutes left in the 2nd quarter due to a severe left knee injury. Williams requires surgery and will be a season ending injury. Below is a video of Valor sending out prayers to him.

The Valor Eagles next game will be 2 weeks from now against out-of-state Utah rival Bingham High School.