Editor’s Note: This article first appeared in the November 19, 2015 edition of the Pioneer.
A junior and two freshmen were key parts of the rotation for the Yuma High School volleyball team at last weekend’s Class 2A State Volleyball Tournament in the Denver Coliseum.
While Luisa Hernandez (the junior), and Cody Robinson and Chasey Blach (the freshmen) can make a run for another state title next year, it was the seniors that defined the 2015 championship team.
“It is so cool they got to do that,” head coach Jenny Noble said of her six seniors — Peighton Roth, Tara Traphagan, Mariya Mekelburg, Mallory Noble, Logan Hixon and Taryn Baucke. “Every one of them contributed and made plays.”
The Class of 2016 is one of those groups that had people whispering about state titles even back in elementary school. There are even several other good athletes in the class did not even play volleyball in high school.
They swept the basketball and volleyball league titles in seventh grade and eighth grade, and won a Power to Play basketball state title in junior high.
Three of them — Roth, Hixon and Traphagan — have been varsity regulars since their freshman year.
However, the climb to the top provides plenty of opportunities for falling.
The Yuma girls’ hard-luck results in four state championship appearances over the past three years has been well documented; three consecutive state runners-up in basketball, and a loss to Resurrection Christian last year in volleyball.
“They put pressure on themselves, but there was outside pressure too,” coach Noble said. “They kept hearing ‘you guys are so talented but you haven’t won one.’ “It adds a little weight to your shoulders.” Consider that weight lifted after the Indians avenged last year’s title loss with a five-set win over Resurrection Christian, last Saturday night.
“I think it took a lot of pressure off of us for the rest of the year,” senior Traphagan said. “It proved to the community that we could finish. It was special.”
And while the Indians finished their championship season with a 28-1 record, it was not always smooth sailing. They were winning, mostly by 3-0 sweeps, but the matches were closer than most observers, including the Indians themselves, expected. They finally were completely exposed in a four-set loss to Otis in the championship match of the Akron Tournament in late September.
“We decided if we can make ourselves a little better, we’re going to do it,” coach Noble said.
Hixon had skipped volleyball as a junior to play softball, but decided to return to the indoor net game for her senior year.
“At the beginning it was a little nerve-wracking,” she said, “but after a few practices it was like I never left. Last year I missed my friends. We had been playing sports together since I moved here, so it was fun to be back with them again.”
She began the year as an outside hitter, but Noble decided around midseason to switch her to a defensive specialist and put Robinson in the outside hitter spot. Hixon said the coach explained to her she was simply trying to put everyone into the best position for the team to win a championship.
“It’s all I wanted was to win state, so I was willing to do what it took,” Hixon said. “I love playing defense; it’s my favorite part.”
It took a little longer for everyone to settle into their new roles, but then the Indians got rolling. Baucke also started working her way into the lineup after recovering from a shoulder operation. She said the shoulder had been bothering her since seventh grade, going to doctor after doctor. She and her parents finally found one who figured out the problem — all of her ligaments had been overstretched, resulting in too much movement. Surgery last April tightened up the ligaments, and removed the scar tissue, but left her arm in a sling for nearly two months, followed by months of physical therapy.
“Coming back was really hard,” she said. “Being able to trust my body…it was more mental than physical.”
She finally was cleared to play about one month into the season, but the Indians already had a salty lineup that proved tough to crack.
“It was really hard for a little bit,” Baucke said. “I knew their success would be good for all of us, but it was hard seeing them out there having fun, and I wasn’t out there having fun with them. I just kept working hard every day.”
She eventually worked her way into the rotation as a server and defensive specialist. Meanwhile, the Indians already had Traphagan, the best hitter in at least all of 2A, and Roth, probably the best libero in 2A, along with Mekelburg, a valuable blocker and outside hitter, helping keep things moving in the right direction.
“I think we all just trusted coach to figure out what worked best,” Traphagan said.
The Indians cruised through the Lower Platte Activities Association, not losing a single set while winning their second straight league title. They then swept through Sedgwick County, Wray, Wiggins and Caliche to claim their third consecutive district title, followed by more 3-0 wins over Wiggins and Lyons for their fourth consecutive regional title.
The only thing missing was that elusive state title.
“We wanted to get every single game, even at the state tournament,” Traphagan said. “Even though it was the last two days and last four games, we wanted to get better in one.”
The Indians actually struggled a bit in the first set of the opener against 11th-seed Kiowa, last Friday morning in the Coliseum. They trailed for much of it before finally pulling out a 25-22 win. They cruised from there to 25-16 and 25-14 victories. Traphagan knocked home 14 kills, while Hernandez had seven, Mekelburg three, and Hixon, Robinson and Blach two each. Noble recorded 29 setting assists. Hernandez was 17-18 serving with two aces, Hixon 13-15 with three aces, Baucke 10-10, Traphgan 10-11 with one ace, Noble 10-12 with one ace, and Roth 5-7. Roth and Traphagan led in serve receive. Blach was in on eight total blocks, Hernandez four, Mekelburg three and Hixon two. They wasted no time in taking control of their second pool play match later in the day against seventh-seed Cedaredge. They jumped out to an 8-3 lead in the first set, led 13-5 and cruised from there to a 25-14 win. They went ahead again 8-3 in the second set, and dominated their way to a 22-7 lead before settling for a 25-10 win. Cedaredge took control in the third with an 8-4 lead. However, this year’s Indians have made it a habit of never blinking when trailing.
“We work in practice a lot with being behind and having to score with certain plays,” Mallory Noble said. “At state we were focused on one point at a time.”
The Indians trailed 17-20 when a booming kill from Traphagan turned the tide, and the Indians went on to win 25-22, the final point coming on a kill from Hernandez. Hernandez was in on five blocks, Blach four, Mekelburg four, and Robinson three. Hixon and Roth led in serve receive. Robinson had a big match at the net with 13 kills, while Traphagan had 12, Hernandez six, Mekelburg five, Blach and Noble two each, and Kenna Spencer one. Noble had 34 assists. Roth was 21-21 serving with two aces, Baucke 10-10, Noble 10-11, Traphagan 12-14 with three aces, Hixon 6-7, Hernandez 5-7, and Avery Whitehead and Kenedy Roth both 1-1.
The win qualified Yuma for the semifinals for the third straight year, where they met up with third-ranked Lyons. There was little drama in this one as, besides a 6-6 tie in the first set, the Indians never trailed to claim a 25-18, 25-19, 25-15 victory. Mekelburg, Hernandez and Blach each were in on five blocks, Noble four, and Traphagan two. Hixon, Roth and Robinson led in serve receive. Noble had 30 assists. Traphagan knocked down 20 kills, Hernandez four, Blach and Robinson three each, and Noble two. The Indians served 97.3 percent as Traphagan was 15-15 serving with two aces, Hernandez 14-14 with one ace, Noble 11-11, Baucke 10-10 with one ace, Hixon 12-13 with one ace, and Roth 8-9. Resurrection Christian prevailed in a closely-fought set with fourth-seed Paonia in the other semifinal, setting up a rematch of last year’s championship tilt.
It appeared it would be another horror show for the Indians and their hundreds of fans in attendance. Serves into the net, rough serve receive and passing, an inability to block or dig kill attempts, resulted in a 17-25 loss.
However, the Indians were not going to let this one get away.
“After we lost the first set, I was a little nervous, but then I realized there was a lot playing left,” Roth said. “We just had to calm down, do what we do well and keep playing.”
“I knew we had plenty of time and we were going to get it done,” Mekelburg said.
Hixon, the one had skipped volleyball last year, ended up being the vocal leader at state.
“I had played in a state championship game every year, and I was really tired of getting second every year,” she said. “I’m a senior and I felt it was important I told the other seniors, and the other players, that we have the mindset to win every game.”
The Cougars’ quick hits were negating Yuma’s strong defense at the net.
“I told them in the huddle we had to block, to go up early,” coach Noble said. “We did that and we just took off. When we have good blocking, it makes the defense better.
“I felt that other than that first set, we had that excitement going,” she said. “I told them that as long as they were smiling, they were going to be okay.”
The Indians took the early lead in the second set, and when the teams were tied at 18, three big blocks sparked the Indians to a 22-18 lead. However, consecutive net serves opened the door for the Cougars, who tied the score at 24, and again at 25 and 26, the Indians coming up short on three straight chances at the win. They then fell behind 26-27, but another block tied it up at 27, and the Indians scored the next two for the win.
“When they started to believe they could win, that was something to be a part of,” coach Noble said. The Indians then scored the first five points of the third set, never trailing while winning 25-21. However, the Cougars returned the favor in the fourth set, leading throughout except for a tie at 18, handing the Indians a 21-25 loss.
“We had played with them throughout that fourth set, they just were able to string together some points, while we couldn’t,” Mallory Noble said.
Yuma jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the deciding fifth set. The Cougars tied it at 4 after a timeout, but the Indians then ran off eight straight for a 12-4 lead. Rez scored three straight, but the Indians stopped it there, Traphagan served the last two points, and Mekelburg spiked home the final point for the win.
It touched off a wild celebration on the court and in the stands with the Yuma faithful.
“You could tell Rez was getting tired, and we rode that extra shot of adrenaline to the end,” coach Noble said.
The Indians had their best blocking effort yet, as Blach was in on eight, Hernandez six, Noble and Mekelburg three each, Robinson two, and Traphagan one. The back line stiffened up with serve receive and digs, led by Roth and Hixon. Noble recorded 50 setting assists. Traphagan had 25 kills, Hernandez 12, Robinson seven, Blach five, and Mekelburg and Noble two each. Yuma served 95.3 percent, despite the scary net serves in the second set. Noble was 22- 22 with one ace, Hernandez 21-22 with one ace, Roth 18-20 with one ace, Traphagan 15-15 with one ace, Hixon 15-16, and Baucke 9-10.
Coach Noble noted the Indians had played 5A state champion Cherokee Trail and 3A champion Eaton in tournaments last summer, as well as 1A champion Otis during the regular season.
“I think that prepared us for the state tournament,” she said. “We knew we had to get better, to keep improving.”
As to the adjustment made throughout the season that eventually led to the state title, the coach added: “We told them to trust us, we want you to win this thing too, and they did trust us.”