CLASS 1A VOLLEYBALL PREVIEW – WEEK ELEVEN by Kerry Sherman

CLASS 1A VOLLEYBALL PREVIEW – WEEK ELEVEN

BY: KERRY SHERMAN

The Class 1A volleyball regular season has reached its final weekend and some of the best matches of the season are on the slate. The fight for the final at large berths will come down to the wire and none of the teams involved will rest easy until the official regional field is released later this weekend. The rankings in this preview come from Thursday morning’s updated release of the CHSAA Selection and Seeding Index.

THURSDAY

#14 FLEMING LADY WILDCATS (12-9 OVERALL) AT #1 MERINO LADY RAMS (20-1 OVERALL)

Merino suffered its first loss of the season last Saturday to 2A #1 Wiggins, two sets to one to open the Sterling tournament. The Lady Rams then swept three top-20 3A teams (Lamar, Alamosa, Sterling). Fleming is just 3-4 in its last seven, but all four losses are to teams that will most likely be hosting a regional next week (Weldon Valley, Simla, Sedgwick County, Briggsdale). Merino has won seven of the last 10 meetings with the Lady Wildcats, including victories in the state title match each of the three previous seasons.

#3 MCCLAVE LADY CARDINALS (19-2 OVERALL) AT #25 WILEY LADY PANTHERS (11-9 OVERALL)

Back at full strength, McClave bounced back from consecutive five-set losses in the Cheyenne Wells tri with three straight sweep victories late last week. That pushed the season sweep total for the Lady Cards to 15. Wiley went from being on the verge of hosting a regional pairing to currently missing out on the postseason in the span of a month. The Lady Panthers have not won consecutive matches since 9/19 and 9/26. Wiley had won five straight in the series between these two rivals that are separated by just eight miles, but McClave took last year’s contest in five sets.

#4 SIMLA LADY CUBS (19-3 OVERALL) AT 2A #27 LIMON LADY BADGERS (8-11 OVERALL)

Simla puts a 13-match winning streak on the line in a cross-classification match with Limon. The Lady Cubs last tasted defeat on 9/16 in five sets against Merino. They have not lost a set in that stretch. Limon has lost its last three and eight of the nine down the stretch. The Lady Badgers have won four of the last six against the Lady Cubs, but Simla’s wins have come in the last three meetings.

#18 FLATIRONS ACADEMY LADY BISON (14-8 OVERALL) AT #8 BRIGGSDALE LADY FALCONS (17-5 OVERALL)

These two programs have developed quite the nice little rivalry in basketball, and now they meet in a big volleyball match. Flatirons Academy won the 5280, dropping just one set along the way, and enters this contest with three straight wins. Briggsdale has lost three of its last four, with the lone win in that stretch coming against Fleming. The Lady Falcons had won 12 consecutive prior to this slide. This is the seventh meeting between the Lady Bison and Lady Falcons, with Briggsdale winning all six previous clashes, including a four-setter earlier this year.

FRIDAY

#1 MERINO LADY RAMS AT #9 HAXTUN FIGHTIN’ LADY BULLDOGS (16-6 OVERALL)

Haxtun seems to be peaking at just the right time, as the Fightin’ Lady Bulldogs have won seven straight. The last three have all been high profile victories (Otis, Sedgwick County, Weldon Valley). A win by Haxtun would create a three-way tie for the LPAA title, with Wiggins joining the mix. Merino has won four straight in the series and nine of the last 10 against Haxtun.

#14 FLEMING LADY WILDCATS AT #2 STRATTON LADY EAGLES (19-3 OVERALL)

Stratton wrapped up a perfect run through the Union Pacific with a win earlier this week against Limon. The Lady Eagles did not drop a set in league play. Five of the last six wins in this current 14-match winning streak have been sweeps. The one that went more than three was a four-setter over Briggsdale last Saturday. Fleming won a pair of matches against Stratton last year, both in sweeps, the second coming at state.

#19 EADS LADY EAGLES (12-9 OVERALL) VS #6 IDALIA LADY WOLVES (17-4 OVERALL)

Eads rolls into the final Friday of the regular season having won 10 of its last 14 matches. The Lady Eagles went from just hoping to make the postseason field prior to this hot streak to now looking to make some noise at regionals. Idalia has strung together six straight victories and own wins in 10 of the last 11.The lone blemish was a five-setter to Stratton. The Lady Wolves have won six in a row against Eads in the series, winning 18 of 19 sets in the process.

#30 SPRINGFIELD LADY LONGHORNS (7-9 OVERALL) AT HEART OF THE ROCKIES TOURNAMENT (BUENA VISTA HIGH SCHOOL)

By virtue of is Ark Valley title, Springfield is a lock for the postseason field. The Lady Longhorns will spend the weekend in Buena Vista for the Heart of the Rockies tournament. They will face 3A Moffat County on Friday, and then 2A #35 Clear Creek, 2A #21 Buena Vista, and 2A South Park on Saturday.

SATURDAY

2A #2 SEDGWICK COUNTY LADY COUGARS (16-5 OVERALL) AT #5 OTIS LADY BULLDOGS (16-6 OVERALL)

A late add to the calendar, Otis will host the defending 2A state champs in what should be a great tune-up for both teams. Sedgwick County had won three of four heading into Thursday’s clash with 3A #15 Sterling, with the lone loss coming to Haxtun. Otis enters the contest with a pair of consecutive wins after its loss to Haxtun last week. The Lady Bulldogs have won seven of their last 10 overall.

2A #20 RANGELY LADY PANTHERS (14-6 OVERALL) AT #23 CAPROCK ACADEMY LADY EAGLES (15-7 OVERALL)

Caprock picked up a big sweep victory over 2A Vail Mountain on Wednesday night, moving the Lady Eagles into the final at large spot for the postseason. With Springfield guaranteed no worse than the #24 seed, the Lady Eagles know they must at least maintain their current standing in the Seeding Index to move on. They take a three-match winning streak into the regular season finale against a 2A Rangely squad that had a three-match winning streak of its own ahead of Friday’s match with 2A #12 Vail Christian. Caprock Academy only has two wins in the past 15 matches against the Lady Panthers, but one of those came last year.

#24 GENOA-HUGO/KARVAL LADY PIRATES (9-12 OVERALL) AT #48 HANOVER LADY HORNETS (9-11 OVERALL)

Genoa-Hugo/Karval needs a win on the road at Hanover to keep the pressure on Caprock Academy as the two struggle to get that final at large spot into the regional field. The Lady Pirates have lost four of six and six of the last 10 on the season, which has caused them to slide from the top-20 in the Seeding Index to now having to win and most likely get some help to make the bracket. The Hornets are relegated to playing spoiler and will enter the contest in the midst of a streak that has seen them drop seven of their last 10. The Lady Pirates won last year’s meeting in three sets.