CLASS 3A VOLLEYBALL PREVIEW – WEEK SIX
BY: KERRY SHERMAN
We are midway through the volleyball regular season and things are really ramping up. Four teams head into the weekend still having a zero in the loss column, while seven more have one or two. Here’s our look at the top-10 and others just outside of the rankings as they move into the weekend. The rankings are from our MileHigh Prep Report Media Poll, and the CHSAA Selection and Seeding Index, as of Wednesday morning.
PLATTE VALLEY LADY BRONCOS (#1 MHPR, #2 CHSAA 11-4)
Platte Valley has won four straight and 11 of its last 12 overall. The Lady Broncos are 5-0 inside the Patriot and have not dropped a set. Last weekend, they picked up a nice 3-1 win over 2A #2 Wiggins, with Karsyn Fetzer hammering a season-high 22 kills. The junior added 18 in Tuesday’s sweep win over Estes Park, giving her 176 on the season. Lauryn Uyemura tallied 27 assists in that win, pushing her season total to 415, well on pace for a third straight year with more than 800. Just a junior, she is over the 2100 mark for her career. Platte Valley visits University on Thursday and hosts Resurrection Christian next Tuesday, with both counting in the Patriot standings.
DELTA LADY PANTHERS (#2 MHPR, #4 CHSAA 9-0)
Delta moved to 2-0 in the Western Slope earlier this week with a sweep of Roaring Fork. The Lady Panthers have only been forced beyond three sets three times this season, with two going the full five. Stats haven’t been posted from Tuesday’s win, but heading into that match, Aadrey Fraser (145) and Sophia Chavez (103) were both over the century mark in kills. Delta also had four players with 80 or more digs on the year prior to that contest. The Lady Panthers host Coal Ridge on Thursday, and then travel to Moffat County on Friday and Gunnison on Tuesday. All three are league clashes.
ALAMOSA LADY MEAN MOOSE (#3 MHPR, #7 CHSAA 6-4)
Winner of three straight and five of six, Alamosa hasn’t seen the court in more than a week since last playing a week ago Tuesday. The Lady Mean Moose were pushed to five sets that night by Centauri, with the fourth set going 31-29 to the Lady Falcons. Laci Christensen had a career-high 20 kills in that win, and Aubrey Rothermich added 17. Morgan Ortega tallied 42 assists, and the junior has a shot to go over 2000 for her career in the next few weeks. Alamosa ends its extended lay-off on Friday with a trip to Montezuma-Cortez. Saturday includes a road contest at Bayfield. Both matches count in the Intermountain standings.
EATON LADY REDS (#4 MHPR, #6 CHSAA 6-4)
Eaton also heads into its next match having won three straight, all by sweeps. The Lady Reds had dropped two in a row prior to this hot streak, falling to Holy Family and Platte Valley. On Tuesday, Eaton rolled past Weld Central in Patriot play, with Evie Gavette recording 17 digs. The junior has 231 on the season, which leads the classification. She averages just over 23 per match. The Lady Reds are off until Tuesday, when they host Estes Park in league play.
RESURRECTION CHRISTIAN LADY COUGARS (#5 MHPR, #10 CHSAA 4-2)
The Lady Cougars share the lead in the Patriot thanks to a 4-0 mark in the league. Like Platte Valley, they have not dropped a set in league action. Resurrection Christian did not allow more than 11 points in any of the three sets against Frontier Academy on Tuesday, and held them to just 27 points in the match. They take a three-match winning streak into Thursday’s home contest against Berthoud, and will then gear up for next Tuesday’s huge tilt at Platte Valley.
STERLING LADY TIGERS (#6 MHPR, #9 CHSAA 6-3)
The fourth team from the Patriot in the top-six, Sterling heads into the weekend on a two-match slide following losses to Resurrection Christian last week, and Timnath on Tuesday. In the four-set loss earlier this week, the Lady Tigers fell into an 0-2 hole and could not recover. They will try to get back into the win column on Thursday when they visit Wellington. Sterling is back home next Tuesday to face Valley. Both are league matches.
UNIVERSITY LADY BULLDOGS (#7 MHPR, #13 CHSAA 6-5)
We find yet another Patriot team in the poll this week, with the Lady Bulldogs of University next on the list. They have won two straight (both in sweeps) since going through a tough three-match skid. Kaitlin Smith did a nice job distributing the ball in Tuesday’s win over Berthoud, with her 37 assists helping the Lady Bulldogs have three players with eight or more kills. Smith is just 220 assists short of the 2000 career mark, and she’s just a junior. She recorded 980 as a sophomore. The Lady Bulldogs get their shot at Platte Valley on Thursday at home and will visit Liberty Common on Tuesday.
JEFFERSON ACADEMY LADY JAGUARS (#8 MHPR, #1 CHSAA 10-0)
Jefferson Academy rolls into the weekend having dropped a total of four sets to date. However, half of those came in Tuesday’s five-set win over Prospect Ridge Academy. The Lady Jaguars used a balanced attack under the direction of Jessica Schaffer, whose 47 assists led to six players having at least five kills. Laila Gallaher had 13 to lead the way. That was the Metro opener for JA, who gets three more league matches in the coming days, starting with a road trip to Kent Denver on Saturday. They will follow that up with a home match against The Academy on Monday and another roadie at Eagle Ridge Academy on Wednesday.
CENTAURI LADY FALCONS (#9 MHPR, #14 CHSAA 6-5)
Centauri put a two-match slide, including a tough five-set loss to Alamosa, to bed and evened its Intermountain record at 1-1 by sweeping Pagosa Springs last Saturday. Kailyn Polzin was the only player in that match to reach double digits in kills with 17. That pushed her to sixth in the classification with 138 on the season. The Lady Falcons are on the road this weekend, visiting Bayfield on Friday and Montezuma-Cortez on Saturday. Both count in the Intermountain standings.
LIBERTY COMMON LADY EAGLES (#10 MHPR, #8 CHSAA 9-5)
Liberty Common has won three straight and five out of six, with all but one victory coming in sweep fashion. That winning streak includes a four-set win over 2A #1 Sedgwick County last Saturday and a Patriot win over Brush on Tuesday. Karli Krueger put together 36 kills in those win, 25 on Saturday. She sits third in 3A with 148 on the year. After visiting Estes Park on Thursday, the Lady Eagles will host University next Tuesday.
COLORADO SPRINGS CHRISTIAN LADY LIONS (#11 MHPR, #18 CHSAA 9-4)
With a pair of sweep wins in their last two outings, the Lady Lions sit near the top of the standings in the Tri-Peaks. The first of those was against Lamar, snapping a three-match losing streak in the series. Abigail Perry served up seven aces in that win, giving her a classification best 62 on the year. CSCS has home league matches against Woodland Park on Thursday and Banning Lewis next Wednesday.
LAMAR LADY THUNDER (#12 MHPR, #11 CHSAA 6-2)
Regular season losses have been a rarity in Lamar in recent years, but the defeat by CSCS was the second of the season for the Lady Thunder. It also snapped a string of three straight wins by sweeps. They got back in the win column on Tuesday by sweeping Manitou Springs. Tatum Milenski had 33 aces, putting the junior just 18 away from 100 in her career. She added 31 assists for good measure. Lamar hosts Salida on Saturday and travels to Atlas Prep next Tuesday, both in Tri-Peaks play.
TIMNATH LADY CUBS (#13 MHPR, #3 CHSAA 11-0)
In Tuesday’s win against Sterling, Timnath dropped just its fourth set of the season. Aubrianna Gerdes climbed into the classification’s top-ten for kills with 17 in that match. She has 130 heading into Thursday’s Patriot match against Frontier Academy. The Lady Cubs have a non-league match at home on Saturday with Windsor Charter, and returns to league play on Tuesday at Berthoud.
GUNNISON COWGIRLS (#14 MHPR, #5 CHSAA 9-0)
Gunnison picked up its sixth sweep of the season last Saturday against Moffat County. Aubrey Welfelt cranked out a career-high seven aces in the win. Gunnison has a Western Slope game at Roaring Fork on Thursday, and then welcomes Delta to town on Tuesday.
KENT DENVER LADY SUN DEVILS (#15 MHPR, #16 CHSAA 9-1)
After suffering its lone loss of the season earlier this month, Kent Denver has rolled to four straight victories. The most recent of those was a five-setter over Peak to Peak to open the Lady Sun Devils’ Metro schedule. Kent Denver won the fifth set 15-11. The Lady Sun Devils host Forge Christian on Thursday, Jefferson Academy on Saturday, and visit Manual next Wednesday. Each match is a league contest.
PROSPECT RIDGE ACADEMY LADY MINERS (#16 MHPR, #12 CHSAA 7-3)
Tuesday’s loss to Jefferson Academy was the second in the last four matches for the Lady Miners. Sandwiched between were a pair of five-set wins. Six of their matches so far have gone the distance, including a best of three in a tournament. They are 4-2 in those contests. Prospect Ridge hosts St. Mary’s Academy on Thursday and travels to Peak to Peak next Tuesday. Both are Metro matches.
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