It’s a busy week for the top teams in Class 1A, with many facing some stiff competition. Wiley and Belleview Christian join the rankings this week, and both will put impressive records on the line as they look to climb the charts.
Wiley (7-1) is the new #7 squad and the Panthers get a quick welcome to the top ten as the Panthers host top-ranked Kit Carson (9-0) on Thursday in their only action of the week. The Panthers have won three straight matches since suffering their lone loss of the season to #4 Holly in five sets back on Aug. 29. One of those came against Stratton/Liberty, who was ranked at the time. Faith Dellamaestra leads the team with 58 kills on the season, far surpassing the next player on the list. The rest of the squad has a total of 62 kills.
Kit Carson swept its way through both Granada and Genoa-Hugo last week, and the Wildcats have yet to drop a single set this season. In fact, they have allowed one opponent to reach 20 points in a set, once. Tess Hornung leads a very balanced attack with 68 kills. Reyna Isenbart (43 kills), McKenzie Smith (42), Micayla Isenbart (40) and Olivia Isenbart (38) help provide the balance. Kit Carson has won the last five meetings with the Panthers, but is just 8-7 in the last 15 against Wiley.
The Wildcats will also hit the road on Saturday to square off with Cheyenne Wells (4-3). The Tigers had won three consecutive matches prior to the loss to Wiley, and they got right back in the win column by downing Walsh in five last Friday. They will look to continue a run of dominance over Granada on Thursday, as the Tigers have won 10 of the last 11 meetings with the Bobcats. The series history with Kit Carson is decidedly different for Cheyenne Wells, as they’ve dropped 21 straight to the Wildcats.
Belleview Christian (8-0) is this week’s #10 team. The Bruins enter Tuesday’s game with Victory Prep, a non-CHSAA charter school, coming off their toughest challenge to date. Belleview was pushed to five sets by Rocky Mountain Lutheran on Sept. 8, with the fifth set going 15-13 to the Bruins. On Saturday, Belleview will host Gilpin County (4-3).
Most of the offense for the Bruins goes through Jamie Shadden and Brooke Long. Shadden tops the team with 83 kills, while Long is second with 74. They will try to help the Bruins snap a two-match losing skid to Gilpin County.
Second-ranked Fleming (9-1) had a good week in downing Caliche (3-6) and #8 Briggsdale (7-2) in sweeps. The win over Briggsdale puts the Wildcats in control in the North Central League. They will travel to Prairie (3-5) on Thursday to face a Mustangs squad that has won its last two matches and three of its last four. Fleming will take a three-headed attack into that match. Alli Keisel leads the way with 108 kills, and she has Bailey Chintala (82 kills) and Jenna Lengfelder (54 kills) to help shoulder the load. The Wildcats have taken six straight meetings with Prairie and 30 of the last 31 overall against the Mustangs.
It was another week of sweeps for #3 La Veta (8-0), as the Redskins took 3-0 victories over Manzanola (1-6) and Cheraw (3-6). Kaylee Corsentino continues to bring the heat, pounding down a team-high 70 kills on the season. Nya Sciacca has added 50 kills to take some of the pressure off Corsentino. That duo will lead the Redskins into home contests against Antonito (5-7) and Centennial (4-3) this weekend. La Veta has won 10 straight over the Trojans and 11 consecutive against Centennial.
Five straight wins and a 9-1 overall record was enough to move Holly up two spots to #4 this week. The Wildcats swept their way past Springfield and Eads last week, sending them into their traditional bye week on a roll. The town of Holly is hosting its annual fair week, and the athletic teams take the week off from competition to allow them to compete instead at the fair. When the Wildcats return to action next week, the will be led by Kallie Cathcart and her 100 kills.
McClave (4-0) gave Holly its only loss several weeks ago and watched as the Wildcats jumped them in the polls this week. The Cardinals have not played in nearly two weeks and they will look to knock off any rust in a road match at Cheraw on Tuesday. McClave has won the last three matches against the Wolverines and owns wins in 10 of the last 13 meetings.
That is just the beginning of a busy stretch for the Cards, who will host Springfield (1-4) on Thursday and then travel to the Hi-Plains tournament on Saturday. The series with the Longhorns has been very competitive, with McClave holding a 13-8 edge in recent meetings, despite a loss last year in the state tournament.
Otis (8-1) picked up a pair of YWKC League wins last week, including a four-setter over #9 Hi-Plains/Flagler last Friday. The sixth-ranked Bulldogs also earned a 3-0 sweep over Lone Star (0-3) earlier in the week. The only loss of the season for Otis came in the finals of the NJC tournament to Dayspring Christian, who was #1 in 2A at the time. MaKenna Metzler (75 kills) and Ruby Halcomb (57 kills) will lead the Bulldogs into a week that features a Tuesday night road trip to Haxtun and the Akron tournament on Saturday. Otis will be in a pool that includes Wiggins and Sargent.
Hi-Plains/Flagler (2-2) fell one spot after that loss to Otis. Kodie Niebur-Hasz moved her season kill total to 79 with 25 in that match. The squad also lost to Limon in four sets last week. They will try to get back on track with a home match-up against Genoa-Hugo on Tuesday before a road trip to Byers on Thursday. The program will also participate in its own tournament on Saturday. Some of the other teams in the field are McClave, Kim/Branson, Genoa-Hugo, and Creede.
Briggsdale took wins in two of three matches last week, bouncing back from the tough three-set loss to Fleming to defeat Weldon Valley (2-5) in four sets and Caliche in a sweep. Skyla Miller hammered 20 kills in the win over Weldon Valley and Kimberlyn Krise added a dozen. Between them, that pair has 147 kills on the season.
It is another crazy week for the eighth-ranked Falcons, as they get things underway Tuesday with a home contest against Heritage Christian (5-4). That leads into a Thursday night at Pawnee and another home tilt with Merino on Friday.
RPI STANDINGS — AS OF SEPTEMBER 19TH
- Holly
- McClave
- Wiley
- Fleming
- Denver Jewish Day
- Kim/Branson
- Otis
- Kit Carson
- Belleview Christian
- Briggsdale
- Front Range Baptist
- Eads
- Stratton/Liberty
- La Veta
- Cheyenne Wells
- Hi Plains/Flagler
- Sangre De Cristo
- Weldon Valley
- Dove Creek
- Springfield
- South Baca
- Centennial
- DeBeque
- Genoa Hugo