CLASS 1A VOLLEYBALL PREVIEW – EARLY WEEK
BY: KERRY SHERMAN
We’re about halfway through the regular season in volleyball and the schedule is giving us some great match-ups in the early part of the week. Tuesday has six of the MHPR top-10 teams in action, and five will be on the court come Thursday, with two facing off.
TUESDAY
#1 SIMLA (8-1) VS 2A #1 WIGGINS (7-0)
It doesn’t get much better than a #1 vs #1 match-up, but when it features two powerhouses like Simla and Wiggins, it’s a special treat. Simla rolled to the title at the Denver Christian tournament over the weekend, sweeping 2A Byers, 2A #2 Vail Christian, and 2A #3 Ignacio. The Lady Cubs have won 22 consecutive sets since losing to Vail Christian in the first match of the season at the Wiggins tournament. Carlee Cox had 14 kills in each of the three matches on Saturday, and Kinlee Cox recorded a total of 59 assists. Wiggins took down Highland in three sets last Thursday, with Tenleigh Lorenzini putting away 13 kills. Jaydin Busch added 22 assists and eight aces. Simla has won six of the last 10 meetings with Wiggins, including three 3-0 sweeps last season. Two of those were in the 2A state tournament.
#2 MCCLAVE (6-2) VS KIT CARSON (1-7)
McClave heads into this High Plains league contest fresh off a sweep of #10 Stratton last Friday. The Lady Cardinals cruised 25-13 in the opening set, and then took two competitive sets (25-21, 25-22) to complete the sweep on the road. Kit Carson picked up its first win of the season last Tuesday by beating Genoa-Hugo/Karval in five sets, but the Lady Wildcats were handed a 3-0 loss by Springfield last Thursday. That was an incredibly tight match, despite the sweep, as Springfield won 29-27, 25-22, and 25-23. Kit Carson has a 22-11 edge in the series, but McClave has won the last four, all in sweeps.
#5 SWINK (6-0) AT EADS (4-3)
Swink passed a big test last Friday with a 3-1 win over former Santa Fe rival, Rye. The Lady Lions won the first two sets, and after seeing their opponent take the third, they finished things off with a 25-15 fourth. Daisy Heberlie (18) and Emma Gacnik (13) continued to be a tough duo on the attack, combining for 31 kills. Heberlie also had a team-leading 15 digs, while Gacnik, Lauren Taggart, and Kashlyn Blasingame all had 13. Blasingame tallied 32 assists, and Katie Pickering served four aces. After an eight day layoff, Eads earned a 3-0 win over Wiley last Friday. The Lady Eagles got 11 kills and 16 digs from Bailey Sierra, and 10 kills and 10 assists from Aspen Nelson. Aubrey Mitchek and Emma Wollert shared the team lead with 18 digs apiece. Swink holds a 5-1 lead over Eads, but the teams have not played since 2017.
#6 HI-PLAINS (5-0) AT 2A WRAY (4-7)
After winning the first four matches of the season in sweeps, Hi-Plains lost the opening set at Briggsdale last Saturday. The Lady Patriots trailed 1-2 in the match before winning the last two, including a 15-13 decision in the fifth. Wray opened the season 1-7, but got rolling last Saturday at its own tournament, sweeping Denver Waldorf, Pikes Peak Christian, and Calhan, all 2-0. The Lady Eagles have won four of their last five matches. Hi-Plains has won the last four contests against Wray, including a five-setter last year.
#7 CALICHE (7-3) VS 2A AKRON (8-2)
Caliche rolls into this key LPAA clash with three straight wins on the ledger. The latest came last Friday in three sets at Weldon Valley. The Lady Buffs took that one 25-15/12/16, with Faye Lueck recording nine kills, three aces, and three total blocks. Alexis Breidenbach tallied seven kills, four aces, and three total blocks. Hayden Walker led with 15 digs, and Aniston Marostica added 17 assists. Akron suffered its first losses of the season in Saturday’s Evangel Christian tourney, falling 2-0 to #8 Cheraw, and 2A #8 ECA, but rebounded to beat a formerly top-10 Plateau Valley in three. Madison Woods and Molly O’Neil recorded 11 total kills apiece in the tourney, and AnnMarie Stahn added 10. Akron leads the series with Caliche 18-9 in the MaxPreps era, including 3-2 victories each of the last two years.
#8 CHERAW (6-1) AT 2A LAS ANIMAS (2-4)
Along with the 2-0 win over Akron last Saturday, Cheraw also beat Plateau Valley in two, before falling to ECA in three. The Lady Wolverines won the first set of that match 29-27, but fell 24-26 and 20-25 to suffer their first loss of the season. Those were the first sets that Cheraw had lost after winning their first 17. Las Animas began the season with two wins, but has since lost four straight. The Lady Trojans have won only one set in those losses, and were swept by #4 Granada last Thursday. Ava LaBarge had four kills in that loss, and Bree Tyler tallied seven assists and seven digs. Azoriah Martinez also posted seven digs. Cheraw has won the last six in the series with Las Animas, with last year’s match being a sweep victory for the Lady Wolverines.
THURSDAY
#3 SARGENT (5-0) VS CREEDE (7-1)
Sargent picked up its third straight sweep victory by downing 2A Center in three sets on Saturday. Aubree Ullery had a big match, recording 19 assists, 11 digs, six aces, and five kills. Kandace Pargin led the Lady Farmers with 11 kills, and Kimberly Pargin added six. Denver Holman popped up a team-high 12 digs, and Zoey Barlow had three total blocks. Creede ran its winning streak to three with a four-set victory over Sierra Grande on Friday and a sweep of Rocky Ford on Saturday. Three of the four sets against Sierra Grande were decided by two points, including a 27-25 fourth for the Lady Miners. Paisley Anderson (10) and Jadyn Eubank (9) combined for 19 kills in that win, while Lexy Mead led with 24 digs. Eubank served 11 aces in the sweep of Rocky Ford. Sargent has won the four previous meetings with Creede, all in sweeps, including last year.
#4 GRANADA (6-0) VS #10 STRATTON (4-1)
Granada’s sweep of Manzanola last Friday made it 18 consecutive sets won by the Lady Bobcats since dropping the first set of their opener to Caliche. Camryn Coleman had 21 kills in the 25-11/7/6 victory, while Dayzriana Quintana (7) and Emri Marquez (6) combined for 13 kills. Quintana had 15 digs, and Marquez tallied 10. Leila Pizarro was between them with 13. Kinsley Williams recorded 33 assists. Stratton’s unbeaten start to the season ended last Friday in a sweep loss to McClave. Kinsleigh Brachtenbach (11) and Rilynn Weickum (10) combined for 21 of the 25 kills registered by the Lady Eagles. Gracie Miltenberger tallied 14 assists, and Kennedy Henschel had 14 digs. Stratton has won four of the last five meetings with Granada, but that one win by the Lady Bobcats came in five sets last year. They took the first two sets and then had to pull out a 15-11 fifth to get the victory.
#6 HI-PLAINS VS FLAGLER (6-4)
Flagler had a wild week, falling to Otis in five sets last Tuesday after owning six-point leads in the first two sets and losing both That was followed by a four-set win over ECA on Thursday, and sweep of Bethune on Saturday. Sydnie Berry put away 15 kills in the win against ECA, and Rylie Berry recorded 20 digs in that match. Elexx Lahm tallied 19 assists, while Kenzie Schulte added 10. Those two were also in double figures for digs, recording 12 and 10, respectively. Hi-Plains has won five straight in the series, and six of eight since the athletic co-op broke prior to the 2021 season. It was a sweep win for the Lady Patriots last year.
#9 PRAIRIE (5-2) VS WELDON VALLEY (4-5)
Prairie earned its fourth straight win by sweeping Briggsdale on Friday, one night after beating Fleming. Those wins gave the Lady Mustangs a 2-0 mark in the NCL, one game ahead of Weldon Valley in the win column. Bentley Hickey and Joey Harding both had four kills for Weldon Valley in its sweep loss to Caliche last Friday. Hickey also registered four aces, while Isabella Petrino recorded 13 digs. Prairie has to be focused on the task at hand and not get caught looking ahead to Saturday’s big showdown with Caliche, as Weldon Valley has a good history in this series, winning 38 of the last 47 meetings. However, the Lady Mustangs have swept both meetings 3-0 last year.
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