CLASS 1A VOLLEYBALL PREVIEW – WEEK SEVEN
BY: KERRY SHERMAN
Just over a month remains in the regular season and it’s getting close to white-knuckle time for several teams. Again, the top 12 teams in the CHSAA Selection and Seeding Index will host a region with teams standing 13-24 visiting. Only the 12 winners will advance to state. Beginning this week, we will focus on that Seeding Index for our previews. The rankings are accurate of Thursday morning.
#1 MERINO LADY RAMS (11-0 OVERALL, 2-0 LPAA)
Merino has a tough league contest with 2A #1 Wiggins on Thursday night and Merino has lost the last three meetings against their league rival. Simla is the only 1A team to take a set off the Lady Rams this season, and the Lady Cubs took two. Merino’s next action after the Wiggins match is next Tuesday against 2A #20 Yuma in league play.
#2 MCCLAVE LADY CARDINALS (9-0 OVERALL, 3-0 HIGH PLAINS)
With a big non-league clash against 2A #12 Swink on tap for Saturday, McClave has to stay focused on a tussle at #24 Holly on Friday. The Lady Cards have won four straight matches in sweeps and have not gone more than four sets against anyone all season. So far, McClave has wins over three of the top-nine in the 1A Seeding Index.
#3 BRIGGSDALE LADY FALCONS (13-2 OVERALL, 4-0 NORTH CENTRAL)
Briggsdale ran its winning streak to nine straight, seven in 3-0 sweeps, with three of the last four coming against teams in the top-20. That includes their sweep of rival Fleming last Thursday. The Lady Falcons start their second trip through the NCL on Thursday with a trip to Prairie. They follow that up by visiting North Park on Saturday in non-league play.
#4 OTIS LADY BULLDOGS (11-4 OVERALL, 3-0 YWKC)
The last team to beat #3 Briggsdale, Otis has won seven of its last nine. That includes the championship of the Akron tournament last weekend, despite a five-set loss to Stratton. All four of their losses this season are against teams ranked 15th or better. Otis picked up a home contest on Friday against 2A #22 Loveland Classical, who has only one loss on the ledger.
#5 SIMLA LADY CUBS (10-3 OVERALL, 0-0 BLACK FOREST)
Simla has built a four-match winning streak, all in sweeps, including three in its own tournament over the last weekend. The most impressive of those was against 2A #11 Hoehne. The Lady Cubs won’t begin Black Forest play until next Tuesday at Evangel Christian, but have non-league clashes this weekend, starting with #25 Flatirons Academy on Thursday and #9 Cheraw on Saturday. Both are at home.
#6 DOVE CREEK LADY BULLDOGS (12-2 OVERALL, 4-1 SAN JUAN BASIN)
The winning streak for Dove Creek has reached six, including a huge five-set victory over 2A #3 Mancos earlier this month. The Lady Bulldogs have a non-league trip to 2A #57 Center on Friday before visiting Monticello (UT) next Tuesday. Dove Creek swept their out of state opponent earlier this season, with Kylie Gatlin (15) and Ralynn Hickman (11) combining for 26 kills. None of the three sets were decided by more than five points.
#7 STRATTON LADY EAGLES (7-3 OVERALL, 2-0 UNION PACIFIC)
It was a pretty good weekend for Stratton, who won three out of four, with the only loss coming to Yuma in five sets in the Akron tournament. The Lady Eagles swept #9 Hi-Plains last Friday, beat Otis in five at the Akron tourney, and then took care of 2A #21 Byers in four sets to claim third place in that event. Stratton’s in a pretty rough stretch of the schedule, with #8 Idalia visiting on Saturday and 2A #13 coming in on Tuesday for a league match.
#8 IDALIA LADY WOLVES (11-3 OVERALL, 1-1 YWKC)
Idalia will be well rested ahead of the big match at Stratton on Saturday, as it will be the first action for the Lady Wolves in more than a week. They pushed their winning streak to four by sweeping Wray back on the 21st. Saturday’s match is Idalia’s only contest until next Thursday.
#9 CHERAW LADY WOLVERINES (10-2 OVERALL, 1-2 HIGH PLAINS)
Cheraw has hit a bit of a bump in the road, dropping two of its last three matches. Both were in High Plains league play, the first to McClave in three and last Friday to Eads in four. The Lady Wolverines will have a busy stretch, playing four matches in six days. That starts on Thursday at 2A #40 Crowley County, followed by a league meeting with #14 Granada on Friday, a trip to Simla on Saturday, and wrapping up on Tuesday with a non-league contest at 2A #63 Rocky Ford.
#10 HAXTUN FIGHTIN’ LADY BULLDOGS (10-6 OVERALL, 4-1 LPAA)
Haxtun is just 4-4 in its last eight, but two of the wins have been in league play. The latest of those was a tough five-set victory over Yuma on Tuesday in which the Fightin’ Lady Bulldogs trailed two sets to none. On Friday, they will be looking to make it consecutive wins for the first time in close to a month when they visit Akron in a LPAA match.
#11 LA VETA LADY REDHAWKS (11-3 OVERALL, 2-0 FISHERS PEAK)
La Veta had a wild weekend in the Simla tournament, with all three matches going the distance. A five-set loss to 2A #31 Dayspring Christian to open the day snapped a four-match winning streak for the Lady Redhawks, all of which had been by sweeps. They bounced back to beat Kit Carson in five (16-14 in the fifth), and Hoehne (15-13 in the fifth). The Lady Redhawks are 5-3 in matches that have gone five sets. They will host Cotopaxi on Friday in a non-league contest.
#12 HI-PLAINS LADY PATRIOTS (6-3 OVERALL, 1-1 YWKC)
Hi-Plains had its modest two-match winning streak snapped in the 3-0 loss at Stratton last Friday. The Lady Patriots came back to sweep Belleview Christian on Saturday, but then fell to Briggsdale in a sweep to round out their tri. They host Kit Carson on Thursday and then travel to Arickaree for a YWKC match on Friday.
KEY MATCH-UPS OUTSIDE OF THE TOP-12
#13 WELDON VALLEY AT #26 FLAGLER (THURSDAY)
#20 CAPROCK ACADEMY VS 4A #34 GRAND JUNCTION CENTRAL (THURSDAY)
#25 HOLLY AT 2A #15 FOWLER (THURSDAY)
#17 KIT CARSON VS #28 CHEYENNE WELLS (FRIDAY)
#20 CAPROCK ACADEMY VS 2A #12 MEEKER (SATURDAY)
#22 BELLEVIEW CHRISTIAN VS 2A #34 GOLDEN VIEW CLASSICAL (SATURDAY)
#16 WILEY VS #17 KIT CARSON (MONDAY)
#14 GRANADA AT #25 HOLLY (MONDAY)
#27 ARICKAREE VS #32 LONE STAR (TUESDAY)
#19 GENOA-HUGO/KARVAL AT #28 CHEYENNE WELLS (TUESDAY)
MileHigh Prep Report 