craigdailypress.com

Senior Kelly Edington needed only two words to sum up the Moffat County High School girls volleyball awards dinner.

“It’s sad,” she said. “I didn’t cry, but it’s sad.”

The whole team met for the last time Tuesday at the high school for the awards dinner.

One reason why it didn’t make Edington cry was because this fall won’t be the last time she’s on a volleyball court.

“It’s really not the end, because when I go to college I want to play intramural volleyball,” she said. “It’s just the end with these girls, but not the end for me.”

The team also said good-bye to seniors Tasha Romney, Jordan Maneotis, Lindsey Yoast and Edington.

Romney also received recognition for making the Western Slope League’s All-Conference team.

Last year, Romney was an honorable mention, and she said she was happy her extra work was noticed.

“It shows I’ve improved a lot, and I think I definitely have,” she said. “It’s an honor to get named.”

The volleyball team also had six players earn academic all-state honors as Kelly Syvertson, Yoast, Edington, Jessica Matthews and Lauren Roberts all had grade point averages at or above 3.60.

Matthews, a junior, also was named as an honorable mention for the all-conference team.

Yoast said she was sad but ready to say goodbye to this year’s team.

“We had a great year, got a lot further than people thought we would, and we all improved,” she said. “So I have no regrets about anything.”

Even better than the team that was on the court, was the team off the court, Yoast said.

“We were like a family,” she said. “We know each other like the back of our hand.”

Romney agreed with Yoast, saying she would miss her teammates next year.

“I’ll definitely miss a lot of things about the girls, some things I wont miss, but it was definitely one of the best teams I’ve played on,” she said. “We may not have shown it all the time, but we did have heart, and we did want to win.”

The team qualified for the regional tournament but fell to Rock Canyon High School in the semifinals.

Part of the reason why the team made it so far was because of a team-first attitude, Romney said.

“I know we connected a lot better than we have in a long time,” she said. “There wasn’t a ton of selfishness on this team.”

Ben Bulkeley can be reached at 875-1795 or bbulkeley@craigdailypress.com.