CLASS 1A VOLLEYBALL REPORT – EARLY WEEK
BY: KERRY SHERMAN
There were a number of key contests over the weekend that resulted in some shake-up in the Class 1A CHSAA rankings. The shuffling occurred behind the top-two teams, Simla and Swink. Here’s a look at the next few days for the 12 teams currently in position to host a regional.
TUESDAY
#1 SIMLA (14-1) AT #19 THE COLORADO SPRINGS SCHOOL (11-1)
Simla improved to 3-0 in the Black Forest with a sweep of Kiowa, the 14th consecutive sweep for the Lady Cubs. The win came by scores of 25-6/18/4, and featured eight kills apiece by Carlee Cox and Haylee Easler. Trenna Kochera tallied seven, and Brynlee Amendt added six. Kinlee Cox served 11 aces and also recorded 20 assists. The Colorado Springs School suffered its first loss of the season in five sets to 3A Woodland Park last Tuesday, but bounced back with a sweep of Ellicott on Thursday. The Lady Kodiaks had only lost three sets prior to the loss to Woodland Park. This will be their Black Forest league opener. Simla holds a 15-13 edge in the series since 2007, with the Lady Cubs winning the last eight meetings. The last match between the two was in 2023.
#2 SWINK (12-0) AT 2A #26 HOEHNE (10-3)
Swink racked up its third straight sweep with a 3-0 victory over 2A #31 Peyton last Thursday. That included a wild 29-27 second set. Emma Gacnik led the Lady Lions with 17 kills, while Daisy Heberlie finished with 10 kills, four aces, and five total blocks. Larriana Taggart was the only team member in double figure digs, recording 14. Kashlyn Blasingame, who went over 1500 career assists two nights early, added 21 more. Hoehne had its nine-match winning streak snapped in a tough five-set loss at 3A Florence on Saturday. The Lady Farmers led 2-0 on identical 25-23 wins, but Florence came back to take the next three, including a 15-13 fifth. Swink won both meetings with Hoehne last year, but the Lady Farmers have a 19-17 edge between the former Santa Fe rivals in the MaxPreps era.
#6 GRANADA (12-4) VS #16 SOUTH BACA (12-4)
After losing three of its last four, including a four-set defeat by #3 McClave last Tuesday, Granada got a sweep victory over #17 Eads on Thursday. The Lady Bobcats took the win 25-17/14/23. South Baca was busy on Saturday, playing five matches in the Moscow (KS) tournament. The Lady Patriots swept Minneola, Fellowship Baptist Academy twice, Rolla, and Moscow. All were 2-0. Sarah Elmore became the first player in program history to reach the 1000 career kill milestone during the event. The senior tallied 65 kills in the five matches, leaving her seven shy of 200 for the season. Granada has won four straight in the series, but South Baca leads 12-7.
#9 CALICHE (10-5) AT 2A #8 SEDGWICK COUNTY (10-3)
Caliche controlled its match with Washington County last Thursday, winning 25-5 in each of the first two sets, before getting some experience for its younger varsity players in the third. WashCo won that 25-23, but the Lady Buffs took the fourth 25-4. Caliche served 32 aces, a dozen by Alexis Breidenbach and seven apiece from Aniston Marostica and Lily Armstrong. Hayden Walker tallied a dozen digs, pushing her over the 1000 mark for her career. Sedgwick County improved to 2-0 in the LPAA with a four-set victory over Haxtun last Friday. The Lady Cougars got a strong effort from Daryn Nein, who finished with 17 kills, three aces, three total blocks, and 10 digs. Jaimene Brenneman tacked on six aces, while Harper Nein led the team with 13 digs. Caliche had won 10 of the first 13 meetings in the series since 2007, but SedgCo has won eight straight and nine of the last 10.
#11 HAXTUN (11-5) VS 2A #22 YUMA (8-6)
Haxtun had won six in a row before that loss to Sedgwick County on Friday that dropped the Fightin’ Lady Bulldogs to 3-1 in the LPAA. Leah Edwards led the attack with seven kills, and four others had four. Ashlyn Wolff tallied 16 digs and five aces, while Peyton Biesemeier added a dozen digs. Yuma stepped out of LPAA play on Thursday and got an important 3-0 win at Burlington, but the following night could not back that up in a league match with 2A #1 Wiggins. The Lady Outlaws lost that one in a sweep. The first two were decided by a total of five points, including a 24-26 loss in the second. Lindsey Hermosillo led the team with seven kills and 27 digs, while Berkley Nighswonger added 16 digs. Aubrey Black tacked on 17 assists and 11 digs. Yuma leads Haxtun 15-5 in the MaxPreps era, with the Lady Outlaws getting a four-set win last year. That broke a five-match winning streak for Haxtun.
WEDNESDAY
#8 PLATEAU VALLEY (9-4) VS DE BEQUE (0-14)
Plateau Valley improved to 7-1 in the Western Slope with a sweep of 2A West Grand on Friday. The Cowgirls allowed more points in the 25-22 third than in the first two combined. Vivian Arthur led a balanced attack with 11 kills, and she served four aces. Ava Johnson tallied six kills, while Shelby Blanck, Presley Hawkins, and Macy Bevan had five apiece. Morgann Miller directed the attack with 24 assists. It’s been a rough season for De Beque, who has only won two sets all year. The Lady Dragons were swept by Creede on Friday, and 2A Soroco on Saturday. Tylee Graham had eight kills and 12 digs against Creede, and she served four aces against Soroco. Ileeyah Herrera led with six kills in that match. Plateau Valley has won 16 of the last 25 in the series, including the last two.
THURSDAY
#2 SWINK AT #6 GRANADA
It’s a big showdown in the High Plains, as Swink enters with a 5-0 league record and the lead in the standings. Granada is fourth in the league with a 2-2 mark. This is just the fourth meeting between the two programs, with Swink owning a 2-1 lead. The Lady Lions swept two years ago, and Granada returned the favor last season.
#4 SARGENT (13-1) VS MOUNTAIN VALLEY (1-11)
Sargent suffered its first loss of the season last Saturday to 2A #5 Dolores in four sets. That came right after the Lady Farmers had beaten 2A #10 Ignacio in four. They won the first set against Dolores 25-15, but then lost 27-29, 19-25, and 23-25. Mountain Valley dropped its ninth straight contest on Saturday, falling in five sets against Hanover. The Lady Wolves led that 2-1, but were unable to close it out. Kandra Pollard put down 14 kills, and Kiana King hammered 11. Pollard also had four aces and 29 digs. Zenna Hess led with 30 digs, and King added 23. Sargent has won both previous meetings with Mountain Valley, sweeping the Lady Wolves each of the last two years.
#5 CHERAW (11-2) VS MANZANOLA (1-7)
Cheraw ran its winning streak to three, all in sweeps, with a 3-0 victory over Cheyenne Wells last Friday. The Lady Wolverines got 11 kills from Bristyl Barratt and 10 from Tinley Leake in the win. Tristyn White served six aces, and Raimy Sisson distributed 22 assists. After winning its season opener, Manzanola dropped its seventh straight last Friday in a sweep by Wiley. The Lady Bobcats also had a match at Sierra Grande on Saturday, but the results were not available. Cheraw and Manzy have not played since 2023, but the Lady Wolverines own a 13-1 record since 2009. They’ve won the last 11 in a row.
#7 PRAIRIE (12-3) VS BRIGGSDALE (8-8)
After having its eight-match winning streak snapped by #10 Hi-Plains last Thursday, Prairie got back on track with three wins at the Calhan tournament on Saturday. The Lady Mustangs beat #23 Elbert (2-0), 2A Calhan (2-1), and 2A Peyton (2-0). Briggsdale dropped a four-setter to Peetz on Thursday, but came back to claim a 3-1 win over Weldon Valley on Friday. Prairie won the earlier match-up this season with Briggsdale in a sweep. Hannah Kugler led Prairie with 22 kills and 17 digs, and Macie Jaeger added 12 kills and 14 digs.
#8 PLATEAU VALLEY AT 2A #13 NORTH FORK (11-1)
North Fork won its fifth straight last Thursday with a sweep of 2A Grand Valley, keeping the Lady Minters tied for the lead in the Western Slope with 2A #2 Vail Christian at 8-0. Plateau Valley is one back in both the win and loss columns. North Fork put its winning streak on the line on Tuesday in a road match against Vail Mountain. Plateau Valley has won the last three meetings with North Fork and is 16-4 since 2012.
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