The Dakota Ridge varsity volleyball team lost Thursday’s away conference match against Columbine High School by a score of 3-0. Dakota Ridge vs. Columbine is one of if not the most anticipated games of any sport. The Rebels celebrated with joy when they won the game. Both sides played aggressively to get a victory. It was obvious both sides were ready and prepared to play the game with maximum effort.

Knowing that this game was being played against Columbine, Dakota Ridge fans rolled up to the game dressed and ready for a “gangsta” themed night. The students cheered to help their team achieve a victory over a huge rival. 

Hunter Ledbetter, a Senior SuperFan, says that the Columbine game brought loads of energy to the fans to help the team. “Because of the rivalry we have with them, we always want to be better than them, whether it’s in the sport or the cheers we do to pump the girls up,” Ledbetter said. 

Brianna Binder (12) a team captain for the Eagles knew this game ahead of them was going to be a big one, but knew that the team’s mindset could not be worried that the game was against Columbine. “We tried to treat it like any other game and go into it with a positive mindset,” Binder said.

Set one was a very hard fought battle, but the Rebels looked and proved to be too much to handle for the Eagles. The Eagles showed signs of fight and that they would make the rest of this match a close one. The Eagles run at the end was not enough as Columbine took the first set 25-17. The second set was full of anxiety and excitement as it was back and forth the entire time. Dakota Ridge looked to have the momentum throughout the game but the Rebels still proved they were too much for Dakota as Columbine took the second set with a score of 26-24. After immediately going down 0-2 the Eagles hoped to get one set under their belt. From the start the Rebels showed they wanted to get this match over with and get the 3-0 victory. They showed no signs of slowing down. Late in the set the Eagles proved they weren’t about to go down that easily as they started to have a rally and were down by two. But Dakota’s run was too late and they were unable to close the gap and take the set, as the Rebels scored the final point and took a 25-22 set victory to win the match 3-0. 

The Eagles showed lots of fight and hope to take that spirit into their next game on Tuesday, October 22nd at 6:30 p.m. against Lakewood at Dakota Ridge High School.