Without the scoreboard, it would have been difficult to identify which team was winning when Montezuma-Cortez hosted Monticello on Tuesday.
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).
One reason was the chants and cheers that rang out for each team and continued after the final game had concluded.
But the behavior and body language of the players was what made it nearly impossible to decipher which team had the upper-hand.
The Panthers won game one 25-21, but even when they were trailing big in game two, their moods didn’t show it.
They continued to play hard, they celebrated scored points and high-fived and patted each others’ backs following Monticello scores.
They never gave up.
Sure, they dropped three straight games to lose the match, but head coach Andi Pickens noticed the team’s behavior and saw good signs.
“We talked about that in the locker room,” she said. “Even 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’ energy.”
Pickens noted the great play of senior Laurel Chappell, and thought the defense also looked much improved.
“Our defense played super well because our blocking was a lot better,” she said. “It makes the whole defense work together, and everybody was in sync, so that helped a lot.”
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.