CLASS 3A VOLLEYBALL PREVIEW – WEEK NINE by Kerry Sherman

CLASS 3A VOLLEYBALL PREVIEW – WEEK NINE

BY: KERRY SHERMAN

The final three weeks of the regular season are here and teams are scrambling for their spots in the postseason. So much of the focus the last few weeks has been on the teams that are likely to host a regional bracket. This week, we shift to the teams that are just trying to get into the bracket with at large berths. We take a look at teams sitting 32^nd through 42^nd in the Friday morning CHSAA Selection and Seeding Index. Remember, only the top 36 teams will make the postseason.

#32 STARGATE SCHOOL LADY EAGLES (9-7, 3-4 METRO)

The Lady Eagles have dropped their last two matches and four of their last six. It doesn’t get any easier for them, as they host #3 Jefferson Academy on Friday. Stargate split a pair of meetings with the Lady Jaguars last season, winning in two during a tournament and then losing in five in their regular season match. Jefferson Academy has won five of nine in the series. Next Tuesday, the Lady Eagles will face #41 Eagle Ridge Academy, looking to avenge an earlier 2-1 loss to the Lady Warriors.

#33 WELLINGTON LADY EAGLES (8-11, 1-8 PATRIOT)

Wellington took a four-match losing streak into Thursday’s contest against 4A #46 Weld Central, and the Lady Eagles had only won a single set in that stretch. Maggie Hawkins had 17 assists in Tuesday’s sweep loss to Eaton, pushing the junior’s career total to 600. Wellington has a very important match next Tuesday at #35 Brush.

#34 BENNETT LADY TIGERS (11-8, 10-2 FRONTIER)

Bennett sits third in the Frontier after losses to #31 DSST: Montview and 2A #10 Lake County. The Lady Tigers have won two straight after that loss to Lake County last Friday. They slugged out a five-set victory over #45 Middle Park on Tuesday and they then swept ##60 The Pinnacle on Thursday. League play wraps up on Monday when the Lady Eagles will host #61 Englewood.

#35 BRUSH LADY BEETDIGGERS (9-11, 1-10 PATRIOT)

League play has been rough on the Lady ‘Diggers, after going 8-1 in non-league action. They’ve dropped three straight, all by sweeps. The latest of those came on Thursday at #5 Timnath. Brush can helps its cause next Tuesday with a win over Wellington, who the Lady Beetdiggers have already defeated this year. Brush took a 2-1 victory over the Lady Eagles in the Timnath tournament in early September. Stefanie Lopez Aguilar served up four aces for the Lady Beetdiggers in that win. Brush still has tough matches with #26 Valley and 2A #12 Strasburg on the schedule.

#36 COAL RIDGE LADY TITANS (6-10, 1-4 WESTERN SLOPE)

Coal Ridge takes a two-match losing streak into this weekend after falling to 4A #11 Montrose in a sweep on Thursday. The Lady Titans got off to a slow start in that contest, dropping the opening set 25-9. They came back and made the last two sets a full on tussle. They pushed the Lady Red Hawks in those sets, eventually falling 25-22 and 25-23. Coal Ridge hosts #17 University in a non-league contest on Saturday. University won last year’s meeting in three sets. The Lady Titans will also host #52 Moffat County in league action on Tuesday. Coal Ridge still has a league match with #9 Gunnison and a tournament that will include a match with #13 James Irwin.

#37 LA JUNTA LADY TIGERS (8-9, 5-6 TRI-PEAKS)

After losing four of their previous six matches, the Lady Tigers swept 2A #70 Atlas Prep on Thursday. Reece Addington recorded a strange double-double, as the senior posted 11 assists and 10 aces. Brylee Gearhart added six aces, while Harley Stokes (4) and Katalina Salas (3) helped the Lady Tigers score 23 points on aces in the match. La Junta still has a couple of really big matches ahead, including #11 Colorado Springs Christian and 2A #4 Mancos.

#38 COLORADO ACADEMY LADY MUSTANGS (8-9, 2-6 METRO)

Losses in six out of seven matches put a damper on what had been a 5-2 start to the season for Colorado Academy. The Lady Mustangs pulled out of that spiral with back-to-back wins last week. However, they suffered their fourth five-set loss of the season on Wednesday, when #22 Peak to Peak took a 15-11 win in the fifth set. Freshman Kendall Anderson recorded 14 kills in the defeat. It’s a tough stretch run for the Lady Mustangs with a match next Tuesday against #21 St. Mary’s Academy and the Tuesday after that at #3 Jefferson Academy.

#39 THE ACADEMY LADY WILDCATS (6-9, 2-4 METRO)

The Academy broke a four-match slide on Wednesday with a sweep of 2A #65 Manual in Metro league play. Aliena Curran, Hannah Duchlinski, and Ciara Sanchez each had seven kills in the victory. The final few weeks will give the Lady Wildcats several chances to climb in the standings with some upsets. They start off with #15 Prospect Ridge Academy next Tuesday, followed by #21 St. Mary’s Academy next Thursday.

#40 ROARING FORK LADY RAMS (6-9, 1-4 WESTERN SLOPE)

A sweep loss at #18 Rifle on Tuesday was the fourth defeat in the last five outings for Roaring Fork. Ruby Denning recorded eight kills and 15 digs, leading the Lady Rams in both categories. They have gone five sets five times this season, losing three of those matches. They have a busy weekend, as the Lady Rams will participate in the Battle Mountain tournament on Saturday. Early next week, Roaring Fork will travel to #20 Aspen.

#41 EAGLE RIDGE ACADEMY LADY WARRIORS (4-10, 0-5 METRO)

The Lady Warriors enter the weekend in the middle of a string of seven straight matches decided in 3-0 fashion. Unfortunately for Eagle Ridge, six of the seven have gone in favor of the opponent. That includes a non-league sweep by #11 Colorado Springs Christian. After two close sets (25-19, 25-23), the Lady Warriors ran out of steam in the third and fell 25-11. Eagle Ridge Academy hosts #19 Forge Christian on Friday and the Lady Warriors have matches against two of the other teams in this portion of the Seeding Index down the home stretch, with Stargate School next Tuesday and The Academy the following Monday. In between those two is a trip to #8 Kent Denver next Thursday.

#42 BAYFIELD LADY WOLVERINES (5-13, 3-5 INTERMOUNTAIN)

Bayfield came out of the gates losing six of its first eight matches. After a bit of a more successful stretch in the middle of the schedule, the Lady Wolverines are currently in a run where they have dropped seven of their last nine. However, they defeated #43 Pagosa Springs in four sets on Tuesday. That victory helped Bayfield leapfrog Pagosa in the Seeding Index. The closing run for the Lady Wolverines is far from a walk in the park, as they visit 4A #15 Durango next Tuesday and have a trip to 4A #18 Cheyenne Mountain in two weeks.

KEY MATCHES INVOLVING HIGHLY RANKED TEAMS

FRIDAY

#8 KENT DENVER LADY SUN DEVILS (15-1, 7-0 METRO) AT #21 ST. MARY’S ACADEMY LADY WILDCATS (11-5, 4-3 METRO)

#17 UNIVERSITY LADY BULLDOGS (9-8, 6-4 PATRIOT) AT 4A #6 PALISADE LADY BULLDOGS (13-3, 7-1 4A WESTERN SLOPE)

SATURDAY

#12 ALAMOSA LADY MEAN MOOSE (11-5, 7-1 INTERMOUNTAIN) AT #2 DELTA LADY PANTHERS (16-0, 6-0 WESTERN SLOPE)

#14 RESURRECTION CHRISTIAN LADY COUGARS (11-5, 8-3 PATRIOT) AT 2A #16 YUMA LADY OUTLAWS (10-8, 2-3 LOWER PLATTE)

MONDAY

#5 TIMNATH LADY CUBS (17-2, 8-2 PATRIOT) VS 2A #23 LOVELAND CLASSICAL ACADEMY LADY LIONS (13-3, 5-2 FOOTHILLS)

TUESDAY

#24 THE VANGUARD SCHOOL LADY COURSERS (13-5, 4-4 TRI-PEAKS) VS #25 SALIDA LADY SPARTANS (10-5, 5-3 TRI-PEAKS)

#9 GUNNISON COWGIRLS (13-1, 4-1 WESTERN SLOPE) AT #18 RIFLE LADY BEARS (8-4, 3-2 WESTERN SLOPE)

#16 STERLING LADY TIGERS (10-5, 7-3 PATRIOT) AT #6 LIBERTY COMMON LADY EAGLES (15-5, 8-2 PATRIOT)

#14 RESURRECTION CHRISTIAN LADY COURGARS AT #17 UNIVERSITY LADY BULLDOGS

THURSDAY

#19 FORGE ACADEMY LADY FURY (9-7, 5-2 METRO) AT #3 JEFFERSON ACADEMY LADY JAGUARS (14-1, 5-1 METRO)

#4 EATON LADY REDS (13-4, 10-1 PATRIOT) AT #16 STERLING LADY TIGERS

#17 UNIVERSITY LADY BULLDOGS AT #5 TIMNATH LADY CUBS

#20 ASPEN LADY SKIERS (11-7, 4-2 WESTERN SLOPE) AT 4A #8 EAGLE VALLEY LADY DEVILS (15-5, 6-3 4A WESTERN SLOPE)