Merino's volleyball team has certainly seen a few downfalls in a season mostly defined by winning, and the Rams last week proved just why they're one of Class 1A top squads.

Following two straight setbacks against Wiggins and Haxtun two weeks ago, the fourth-ranked Rams responded by winning their next six sets against Yuma and Akron. Now, they sit at 11-3 with just eight matches left in the regular season, which is slated to end on Oct. 30 for them.

Should the Rams wish to increase their advantage heading into CHSAA's selection committee meeting for the state tournament, they'll have to get through competition both easy and tough along the way.

Next up, the Rams head to Prairie, who has been deceptively tough this year. To date, the Mustangs have won seven of their 17 matches, meaning they're far improved from last year's squad that only saw two wins. Caliche, Flagler, Flagler/Hi-Plains and Frontier Academy should be much simpler to take down but Alamosa, Fleming and Kit Carson will not be.

Merino football faces another setback

Merino football has seen its fair share of setbacks amid tough competition this season, but the Rams have still enjoyed top-10 recognition in CHSAANow.com's 8-man poll through it all.

A Merino football player looks to pass the ball in their game against Akron Friday, Oct. 8, 2021. (OTSPORTSCHEK photo)

They entered last week ranked No. 9, but that was before No. 7 Akron took them to task on Friday night. The high-scoring campaign from both teams ended 46-34 in Akron's favor as they proved themselves the superior Rams team.

Had it not been for the first quarter, Merino (now 2-4) might have actually won. Akron outscored Merino 20-8 throughout the first 12 minutes of play, but in every frame after that, the teams stayed deadlocked at 12-12, then 8-8 and finally 6-6.

Now, Merino must host 2-4 Caliche on Thursday with the hopes of bouncing back and finding that third "W."