For the second year in a row, Fowler's Lady Grizzlies returned from Denver with a volleyball state championship, the twelfth for the program and second under the leadership of head coach, Sandy Moss.
Fowler entered the weekend tournament as the number 2 seed with a 25-1 season record. Their only loss was to Simla the week before in regional play.
Day one of pool play ended with two hard-fought victories for Fowler. In 5 sets each, Fowler beat Dolores and then Burlington. On Saturday morning Fowler faced off with Resurrection Christian winning that battle in 4 sets. Later the Grizzlies defeated Sangre de Cristo in 4 sets to move on to the championship match against Resurrection Christian.
While the girls may have struggled somewhat in earlier games, the championship game showcased a team that has been built on hard work, dedication and fundamental skills. Storming onto the court, Fowler quickly ran the score to 13-2 in their favor with junior, Chelsey Wager serving 7 points. Nine of those first points were kills, 7 courtesy of sophomore hitter Bethany Moss, 1 from junior, Shelby Hartless, and 1 from senior Kirsten Grasmick. Resurrection responded with 3 more points before junior, April Gonzales dinked a return, running Fowler's score to 17. C. Wager followed suit as did junior, Bethany “Klink” Klinkerman with a block bringing the score to 19-8. Two more kills from Moss, and a soft hit from Grasmick ended the set 25-15.
Set 2 started out a little shaky with Resurrection scoring the first three points. But with the help of C. Wager at the net digging out balls and setting up plays, Fowler caught the opponent at 8 points. An ace serve by junior, Karlee Wager, three kills from Moss and Gonzales as well as a block brought the score to 14-9. At this point, the Ladies faltered slightly allowing mistakes which gave Resurrection the advantage taking the score to 15-19. The girls kept their focus, eventually pulling out a win, 25-21.
Successful blocking attempts by Klink resulted in the first two points for Fowler in set 3. Playing with a “never give-up” attitude, Fowler's entire team played the floor rarely allowing a ball out of play. On a roll, the Ladies ran the score to 25-19, claiming state victory.
