The first week on the home court was a busy one for the Moffat County volleyball program as athletes got back into the feel of the game.

MCHS spent its first weekend of competition on the road at a tournament hosted by Rangely Aug. 22 and 23, ultimately splitting their four-game series 2-2.

Facing another team of Bulldogs — Dove Creek — MoCo girls took a sweep that saw 14 kills and 10 aces at the service line, with junior Meadow Simpson leading in the former with 3 kills and junior Adrian Profumo in the latter with 5 A’s.

The team had just as strong an offense in the tourney match with Plateau Valley but came out on the wrong side of 25-20 and 25-17 totals.

MCHS took it to three sets against a heavy-hitting West Grand squad — 25-23, 12-25, 8-15 — before gaining another tournament win against De Beque.

The victory over the young Dragon roster — 25-11, 25-10 — saw Simpson lead with 7 kills as part of 29 total for the team, while Profumo had 4 aces as part of 11 in the group effort.

The Bulldogs faced rival Steamboat Springs Tuesday for their home opener, with the Sailors getting the sweep — 25-10, 25-16, 25-14.

Hitting remained strong — 5 kills for Simpson and 4 for senior Bella Vanzo among 16 total — but new coach Courtney Jenison noted that Steamboat was able to figure out and adapt to the Dogs’ defense quickly.

“The first set we really struggled getting the block totally up on it, but after that we really made Steamboat’s hitters think about where they were hitting and get the ball in other places,” Jenison said. “The girls played great, they hustled, and they never gave up. They went for it every point.”

The team was right back at it two days later with Thursday’s match against North Fork. Despite the energy being on their side right away — leading 7-1 at the first timeout — MoCo girls were overtaken by the Miners from there, falling in sets of 25-21 and 25-20 before a third round of 25-7.

“We started really strong, but our energy got down. Losing two sets in a row was kind of discouraging,” said senior Sofia Vanzo. “But we played hard.”

MCHS will see a slew of home games in the coming weeks, facing Rangely Sept. 9, Olathe Sept. 11, and Grand Valley Sept. 18 for Homecoming.

They will also host Rifle Sept. 23 and Middle Park Oct. 1.