Lady Miners end season with grace

HEM goes 0-2 at 1A State Tournament

“We definitely came out on fire the 1st set,” Hanna, Elk Mountain, Medicine Bow (HEM) Lady Miners Head Coach Jackie Jones said. “Even though we eventually lost, we have never had four sets with Cokeville and we felt pretty good with ourselves.”

HEM went to the 1A State Tournament on Wednesday and their first opponent was the Cokeville Panthers.

The Lady Miners won the 1st set against Cokeville 25-21. The next set the Lady Panthers beat HEM 19-25. The next set was the worst the Lady Miners played against an opponent the whole tournament, losing 11-25. HEM dug deep to try to win the next set but found themselves behind, losing 17-25.

The team took the loss as a win in many ways. They had played a team that had always beaten them in three sets and felt they were contenders to go further.

Jones said the team went in against Upton confident. They proved the first two sets they had every reason to be. They won the 1st set 25-17 and the 2nd set 25-23. They were well ahead in the 3rd set and the Lady Miners looked to be going further in the state tournament. Then the Lady Miners fortunes took a turn for the worse.

“We were doing well against Upton in the third game and I can’t explain, and neither can the girls, why the wind got sucked out of our sails,” Jones said. “There is absolutely no excuses. Volleyball is a very mental game and we are asking teenage kids to hold it together through tough moments.”

The Lady Miners ended up losing the 3rd set 23-25. Losing the close set might have affected HEM’s confidence or it was just some unlucky moments, but Upton won the next set 14-25. Now the Lady Miners had to win or they were done for the year. Unfortunately, the Lady Miners had a repeat set, losing 14-25.

They were done for the season.

“It was hard for sure, but we walked onto the court together and we walked off the court together,” Jones said. “We had a nice dinner, and the team put the loss behind them.”

Jones did acknowledge it was tough for the seniors, who had been in the state championship game their sophomore year.

“The seniors were a little more shaken than the underclassmen, but this core group of girls are such resilient young ladies, they will go to the next sport or whatever endeavor and rise above this season,” Jones said. “There is no question.”

Jones had praise for Upton.

“You know Upton faltered a little toward the end of the season, but Upton is a fantastic volleyball team,” Jones said. “They had some returning starters and we didn’t face a slacker team or lose to a slacker team by any stretch of the imagination. Upton has a quality volleyball program.”

Jones is philosophical about the end of her season with this team.

“In the end, we were a little upset with how everything shook out, having that lead and then just losing our mental focus,” Jones said. “We were not able to finish our task.”

She knows her seniors gave it everything they had.

“To the seniors, I told them after the game, that they had left a legacy to be proud of,” Jones said. “To the girls returning, I pointed out the legacy the seniors helped make school history. I asked the younger girls, how are they going to step up their game to ensure that the legacy the seniors left continues to happen.”

Jones does admit to being sad the team lost in such a heartbreaking manner.

“I admit to having cried some tears since Wednesday,” Jones said. “But I wouldn’t trade that group of girls for anyone. You spend a lot of time with kids coaching and you get to know them beyond the game. That is the beautiful thing about being a coach and teacher. You become a part of their life and that is truly wonderful.”

 

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