<\/p>\n
Without the scoreboard, it would have been difficult to identify which team was winning when Montezuma-Cortez hosted Monticello on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
It may have been hard to tell even after Monticello grabbed game four to win the match in four games (21-25, 25-16, 25-19, 25-21).<\/p>\n
One reason was the chants and cheers that rang out for each team and continued after the final game had concluded.<\/p>\n
But the behavior and body language of the players was what made it nearly impossible to decipher which team had the upper-hand.<\/p>\n
The Panthers won game one 25-21, but even when they were trailing big in game two, their moods didn\u2019t show it.<\/p>\n
They continued to play hard, they celebrated scored points and high-fived and patted each others\u2019 backs following Monticello scores.<\/p>\n
They never gave up.<\/p>\n
Sure, they dropped three straight games to lose the match, but head coach Andi Pickens noticed the team\u2019s behavior and saw good signs.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe talked about that in the locker room,\u201d she said. \u201cEven the girls felt that we played as a family tonight rather than individuals. And that makes a huge difference in the atmosphere, and they were able to feed off each others\u2019 energy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pickens noted the great play of senior Laurel Chappell, and thought the defense also looked much improved.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur defense played super well because our blocking was a lot better,\u201d she said. \u201cIt makes the whole defense work together, and everybody was in sync, so that helped a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pickens and the Panthers remained positive following the loss, and they hope to bounce back on Friday at Fruita Monument and Saturday at Grand Junction Central.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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