2A VOLLEYBALL REPORT – WEEK 9

With the new post-season format for Class 2A volleyball, the regular season has been extended a week but those extra days will be dedicated mostly to tournament action.  That means conference play wraps up this week and there are still two conference champions yet to be crowned.  Both will be decided on Thursday night as Denver Christian meets Union Colony Prep in the Mile-High and Limon faces Byers in the Union Pacific.
Denver Christian leads Union Colony Prep and Lyons by one game in the Mile-High standings so there are plenty of scenarios remaining.  The Thunder have the easiest route to the title as a win on Thursday gives them the outright crown.  And that gives second place to Lyons if they beat Highland on Thursday as well.  For Union Colony to take home the title, they must beat Denver Christian and Dawson (Friday) and have Highland top Lyons.  If Union Colony and Lyons both win out, those two and Denver Christian share the championship.
Other than the 2-0 loss to unbeaten Alamosa in the finals of the Glenwood Springs Tournament in early September, Denver Christian has dropped just two sets on the season.  They had not lost a game in league play until this past Tuesday when they went four sets before beating Dawson 3-1.
Jacki Bogner (196 kills) and Anna Kaemingk (171) continue to be the one-two punch at the net as no other player Denver Christian player has more than 47 kills.  Kara Mitchell, with 163 diggs, leads the defense.  Kaemingk has 117 and Jenna Peters 106.  Peters tops the team in assists (266) but also shares the time there with Jenai Haman (210).
Mayson Fago leads Union Colony on both sides of the net as the junior tops the Timberwolves with 218 kills and 204 diggs.  Hailey Wood (92 kills) and Kamryn Arnold (82) provide hitting depth and Jisela Chairez (161) and Wood (150) are also solid defenders.  Desirae Pisano has 208 assists and Arnold is next with 162.
Serving is also very important to both clubs.  Denver Christian has laid out a whopping 210 aces including 46 from Peters.  Union Colony has 188 aces of their own including 45 from Wood and 41 from Chairez.
Regardless of the outcome and eventual conference finish, both teams expect to be at home for the regional round.  Denver Christian is 4^th in RPI and Union Colony Prep is still 8^th despite a four-set road loss to Wiggins earlier this week.
Highland and Lyons are also in contention to host a regional event in two weeks.  The Huskies, who sit fourth in the conference, are 10^th in RPI and Lyons, with their late season surge, has moved up to 15^th.  The top 12 in the RPI at the end of the regular season will play at home for regionals.
Limon clinches the Union Pacific championship if they get past Byers.  The teams are separated by one game in the league standings and it’s the final conference match for both.  If Byers picks up the victory, then 1A Flagler/Hi Plains also gets back into the title mix as they share second place with the Bulldogs.  The Thunder face Stratton/Liberty on Friday.
If Byers wins, they’re the league champion with a Stratton/Liberty win on Friday.  If Byers and Flagler/Hi Plains both score victories, then the two and Limon end up in a three-way tie atop the standings.
Byers is 11-6 overall and Limon is just 9-10 but both clubs seem to be hitting their stride late in the year.  The Badgers have won six of their last seven; dropping a five-set loss to Simla in that stretch.  Byers has picked five wins over their last seven matches and kept in the running for the league title by downing Stratton/Liberty late last week.
In that win, freshman Symantha Linnebur led the offense with 15 kills.  Arica Herman added 10 and Lauren Marin eight.  Kenzy Largent, with 33 diggs, led four players in double figures and Becca Earl handed out 40 assists.
Staying unbeaten in league play has not been easy for Limon as their list of wins includes a five-setter over Genoa Hugo and four-set victories over Burlington and Stratton/Liberty.  Their offense is led by Anna Weisensee (152 kills) and Trista Marx (92).  Marx will have an interesting week as she also plays for the Badgers softball team which will compete in the state tournament this Friday and Saturday.
Other key players for the Badgers are Amy Weisensee who is third in kills (77) and first in diggs (121).  She’s also second on the team with 128 assists; trailing only Lauren Stang who has 186.
Concerning regional tournaments, neither team would host if they were played this weekend.  Both are within range of getting there as Byers is 14^th in RPI and Limon 19^th.
Meeker captured the Western Slope championship with a quick three-set sweep of 1A DeBeque on Tuesday.  The win kept the Cowboys as one of just three unbeaten teams across the state and they will try to finish off the perfect run in conference against Soroco on Friday.  Up next will be a league tournament next week involving just the 2A league members as 1A teams, including third place DeBeque, compete in district events.
Krissie Luce finished with nine kills in the win and Caleigh Morlan added six.  Sydnie Main and Julia Dinwiddie each picked up five.  Addie Joy served six aces and Lila Klingensmith four.  Klingensmith also led the defense with 21 diggs and Luce added 12.  Kassie Luce directed the offense and collected 25 assists.
Yuma ended the Lower Platte schedule with a perfect record by sweeping Wray on Tuesday.  It was their 41^st consecutive league victory.  They’ll conclude their regular season at the Alliance NE tournament on Saturday.

The Indians are number one in RPI and lead Meeker by .017 in the race for the top overall regional tournament seed.  Wiggins, which scored the nice win over Union Colony Prep on Tuesday, sits third and is .022 back of Yuma.  For the Tigers, Chloe Baker earned moved past 3,000 assists for her career in the win.
One other league match of note this week finds Sanford at Sargent on Saturday.  The two teams are battling for second place behind Del Norte in the Southern Peaks.  Sanford won the first match 3-1 and can claim second outright with another win this week.
The remaining weekend schedule features several non-league contests of note including pairings between Simla-Rye and Del Norte-Swink.  All four teams are conference champions and results will give us an indication of what might happen if they battle in either regional or state tournaments.  Simla is the Black Forest league champion and Rye captured the Santa Fe West title.  Del Norte, as mentioned, is the Southern Peaks champ and they face off against Swink team that finished tops in the Santa Fe East.
Results could also impact the top 12 seeds and which teams get to play at home.  Swink, Rye and Del Norte are in positions five through seven in RPI so they seem to be a lock to host a regional tournament.  Simla is 12^th and squarely on the bubble.
The Cubs (14-4) have won eight in a row since a loss to Kit Carson including the hard fought five-set win over Limon last weekend.  Kegan Hamacher had 18 kills and Riley Maranville 17.  Halle Lutz picked up 22 assists and Maranville added 21.  Defensively, Delaney Sotomayor had 14 diggs, Lutz 10 and Taylor Warnecke nine.
Rye (14-2) suffered their last loss to Del Norte on September 15^th.  They’ve captured their last seven and will try to make it eight straight against Colorado Springs School on Wednesday night.  The Thunderbolts feature the senior hitting tandem of Rachel Shaffer (167) and Hannah Ambler (134) who have combined for 301 kills overall.
Swink dropped just their third match of the season on Tuesday in a thrilling 3-2 marathon to Hoehne.  Swink rallied from down two sets to one by winning set four 25-19.  And then game five finished at 15-13.  The Lions should get back to their winning ways on Thursday at Rocky Ford before meeting Del Norte.  They conclude the regular season at home against Fowler on the 23^rd.
Del Norte carries a 17-match winning streak into the week.  They’ve not dropped a match since falling to Alamosa on August 24^th (3-1).  They could get pushed at home against 3A Salida on Thursday before making the trek to Swink.  Myka Glover (189) and Lacie Jones (180) are both approaching 200 kills on the year.