CENTENNIAL — The volleyball makes a decidedly different sound when Shelby Schacher takes a swat.
Thwap.
You won’t find that word in an unabridged Webster’s, but that’s how one onlooker described the distinctive sound yielded when the Arapahoe senior outside hitter really gets into one.
Whatever the sound, it was happening plenty Thursday night at Sitting Eagle Gymnasium, as the eighth-ranked Warriors toppled No. 9 Mountain Vista 25-23, 25-18, 25-19 in a Class 5A nonleague match.
“When she makes good contact, I know that no one is going to get it,” Arapahoe outside hitter Tanya Marvi said. “I can almost see it before she goes up, just the way she approaches it. Then she hits that smash ball, and it’s just kind of over.”
Arapahoe made sure things were over quickly in the season opener for both teams, as Schacher registered a game- best nine kills and also contributed three service aces.
“It took forever for this day to finally get here, but I’m glad we were prepared for it when it came,” Schacher said.
It didn’t appear that way initially. Things began inauspiciously when the Warriors trailed 17-7 in the first game, but behind the fierce and accurate hitting of Schacher and Catherine Cole, they rallied for the two-point win and parlayed the momentum into a comfortable win in the second game.
“They had some great serves, and we just couldn’t get under them and get some good passes,” Mountain Vista outside hitter Katelyn
Keith said. “We have really good offense and defense; we just need to get it all to click.”
The Warriors again got off to a slow start in game three (7-3 deficit) but reeled off the next nine points, including two on service aces by Schacher. Marvi and Kayla Van Hee each added two more aces to help secure the win.
“I think it really took it out of them when we came back and won that first game,” Schacher said. “They weren’t really expecting it, and we just pushed harder from there.”
