Fleming volleyball has been a powerhouse in the Class 1A scene for a while now. That was evident when the Wildcats played their way back to another state title match appearance in Colorado Springs just last week, before falling to local rival Merino in the end.

This week, the Wildcats solidified their stock among the 1A North Central League as well when five of their players were named to their All-Conference team. Senior Whitney Chintala, senior Zoey Vandenbark and junior Kally Kirkwood all got First Team nods as junior Lexi Schaefer and sophomore Madi Serrato made their way into Honorable Mention.

Those five ladies embodied the true team atmosphere of a squad that built up a 23-6 record that only saw losses to some of Colorado's top volleyball teams from 1A all the way up to 3A. Chintala and Kirkwood led the Wildcats in nearly every facet of the game as they controlled the offense and ran much of the defense as well.

Vandenbark followed their lead with 51 kills, 33 aces, 258 digs and 248 serve receives. Schaefer continued that effort with 32 aces, 447 digs, 22 assists and 618 serve receives. Finally, Serrato collected 57 kills, 76 aces, 113 digs and 124 assists.

In their last game of the season, the title game, Chintala led the attack with 20 kills as Kirkwood followed up with 15 of her own, and they aided in each other's efforts with 15 and 19 assists, respectively. Chintala (29 digs), Schaefer (19 digs), Kirkwood (14 digs) and Vandebark (13 digs) all spread the defensive responsibility nicely against the Rams.

Now that the season is over, the Wildcats will have to say goodbye to seniors Chintala, Vandenbark and Samantha Pope. While they'll be losing a good amount of firepower, especially on the front line, for next season, they'll still return plenty of talent to carry them forward thanks to Kirkwood, Schaefer and Serrato.