The feeling of winning never gets old for long-time volleyball coach Don Lash. 

Looking for its first win of the season, a confident Lewis-Palmer team fought through five sets to take down The Classical Academy 3-2 (23-25, 25-21, 24-26, 25-17, 15-8) on the Titans’ home court Tuesday night. The Rangers (1-2) were the first to beat TCA (5-1) this season.

To many players’ surprise, Lash is back for his 45th year coaching Lewis-Palmer after former Ranger head coach Crissy Leonhardt left the position. The Colorado Coaches for Girls Sports Hall of Famer technically retired last year, but said this season is really his last. 

“It was just hanging tough,” Lash said. “We hurt ourselves but fought back every time. We know them, we felt like we could play with them but you never know how girls will respond.. We knew we had to play our best because they are a very good team. So we agreed we would come out and play as hard as we can.” 

After trailing by as many as six points in the first set, the Rangers tied the game at 22. Still, with the home crowd behind them, the Titans took the set 25-23. 

Maintaining their composure, the Rangers battled to tie the second set at 18 before creating a 6-0 run to help them take the hard-fought set 25-21. With the match tied, the Titans jumped out to an early lead in the third set, but Lewis-Palmer quickly recovered and it was back-and-forth action down the stretch. TCA’s Ashlyn Delaney scored the winning point with a kill to win the set 26-24.  

The fourth set was close with multiple ties until the Rangers began to pull away halfway through to win the set 25-17 and force a fifth, where Lewis-Palmer dominated wire to wire to win 15-8. 

“We were on a high after winning the fourth set, so had a lot of energy into the fifth,” junior Bridgette Bogenrief said. “We just dominated, battling together as a time. We built our momentum through the set and found ways to score points.”

Bogenrief’s mother was coached by Lash and part of the 2001 state championship team. 

“He left a great impact on my mom and carried that to me,” Bogenrief said. “He’s amazing. He never gets mad; he’s big on character. He wants what’s best for us.”

Lash said the win gave Lewis-Palmer a confidence boost going into a tough stretch in its schedule. He’s enjoying every step of the way, but looks forward to handing over the reins. 

“I’ve served my time,” Lash said. “I love the kids; it’s fun to be around young people. I will miss it, but it’s exhausting. We might lose some this season, but that’s OK because it will make us better.”