Tuesday is a huge night in Class 3A volleyball as four matches on the schedule greatly impact league championship races. Lamar and CSCS battle for the Tri Peaks, Coal Ridge can clinch the Western Slope division, Lutheran can move very close to another Metro crown while Eaton tries to avenge last season’s conference loss to Platte Valley in the Patriot. We preview those contests and go through each conference race plus update RPI standings entering the final two weeks of the season.
CONFERENCE BREAKDOWN
- Intermountain: Alamosa snapped a 19-match conference winning streak with a loss at Bayfield last Saturday but the Moose have still claimed a second consecutive league crown. They’ve closed the regular season 9-1 in league action and 20-3 overall. They now have two weeks off before focusing on the regional tournament where they will host. Bayfield (13-4) finished second and will be much busier down the stretch. They meet Piedra Vista NM on Thursday, Durango next Tuesday and then compete at the Palmer Ridge Tournament.
- Metro: Lutheran took a big step to the league title by beating Faith Christian last week. The win left the Lions one game up on the Eagles and Skyview Academy. They host Skyview Academy on Tuesday and a win there basically wraps up another conference title. The Lions still have a whopping 13 matches to play over the final two weeks and they will compete at a tournament in Nebraska this weekend before getting into the Metro league tourney. Faith Christian and Skyview Academy also play on the 29th so the top three still has some shuffling to figure out.
- Patriot: Sterling (7-0) and Eaton (8-0) share the lead and each has a one game lead over Platte Valley (6-1). All others have at least three losses so it’s basically a three-team race for the crown. Eaton hosts Platte Valley this Tuesday and tangles with Sterling on the 29th. Platte Valley and Sterling collide on the 31st. The Tigers also host a very good tournament on Saturday with a field that includes the Reds.
- Tri Peaks: Colorado Springs Christian and Lamar are both 11-0 and will finish first and second. The order will be decided Tuesday night when the Lions and Savages duel in Lamar. The Lions are 19-1 overall and Lamar 16-2. The Savages will also head to Sterling for the Tigers Invite on Saturday. St Mary’s (7-2) is third and should finish there as they lead Buena Vista, La Junta and Vanguard by two games. The Pirates are at Atlas Prep Tuesday and at Florence on Thursday.
Coming off a huge win over Cedaredge last week, Coal Ridge can basically clinch a second straight WSL title by beating Delta on Tuesday. A win by Delta gives the title back to Cedaredge.
- Western Slope: Coal Ridge scored a big win over Cedaredge last week and that left the Titans, Bruins and Delta all tied for the conference lead with one loss apiece. For Cedaredge, the loss was the first of the season and the first time they’ve dropped a set the entire year. The most important match remaining is Tuesday as Coal Ridge visits Delta. Coal Ridge is the champion with a win while Cedaredge gets the crown if Delta scores the upset. The Bruins beat the Panthers earlier this year. That scenario is based on the three teams winning all other conference matches. Coal Ridge also hosts their annual invitational on Saturday.
- Confluence: Eagle Ridge Academy (6-0) shares first place with Strive Prep (2-0) and those two play in Brighton on the 30th. That match should determine first and second. Eagle Ridge Academy is also 11th in RPI and in position to host a regional.
- Frontier: Bennett (7-0) has clinched the league championship with DSST-Montview (6-1) claiming second. The league tournament is Tuesday and Thursday. Bennett also gets in a good test at Platte Valley next week and then hosts their own Invitational to close the regular season.
TOP MATCHES FOR THE WEEK
Platte Valley is the defending Patriot league champion but the Broncos enter the week alone in third and one game back of Eaton and Sterling. They can close the gap on the Reds when they face off on Tuesday. PHOTO BY PLATTE VALLEY SCHOOLS
- Tuesday – Platte Valley at Eaton: The Reds might have this one circled as they fell to the Broncos last season and it cost them another Patriot league championship. The Broncos though are in a must-win situation as they suffered an unexpected loss to Liberty Common earlier in league play. Now they must beat both Eaton and Sterling over the final two weeks to repeat as conference champions. The Broncos are also 12th in RPI so they could use a quality win or two down the stretch to host a regional.
- Tuesday – Skyview Academy at Lutheran: The Lions are only 10-0 and teams on the 3A level can play up to 23 regular season matches so they begin a tremendous schedule to close up shop. They’ve lost just one set in league play this year (Prospect Ridge) and a win puts them in great shape to land a second straight title. They would then only need a win over either St Mary’s Academy or Kent Denver in their final two conference matches. Skyview Academy has a five set loss to Colorado Academy but has won four straight in conference play since. They must win to stay in the league championship chase.
- Tuesday – Colorado Springs Christian at Lamar: The Tri Peaks title is on the line in this one and one team will experience something they haven’t all season; a conference loss. Both teams are 11-0 in a very good conference so the survivor is the league champion and the loser settles for second. Lamar (5th) is actually four spots higher than CSCS (9th) in RPI, but the Lions have three more wins overall (19-16).
- Tuesday – Coal Ridge at Delta: Both teams head into the match with one league loss and tied with Cedaredge for the Western Slope lead. Coal Ridge controls their own placement as a win in this one gives them the championship. Delta though needs some help. They lost to Cedaredge earlier in the year so even with a win on Tuesday, the Panthers would come up short to the Bruins in a tiebreaker. The only manner in which Delta is the champion is to beat Coal Ridge and then have Cedaredge lose to either Grand Valley on Saturday or Aspen next week.
RPI STANDINGS (Top 36)
The top 36 teams in RPI at the end of the regular season advance to the regional tournament. The best 12 teams also serve as host for a three-team bracket and winners of each tournament advance to state November 14-16th in Denver. These standings are based on RPI from Monday October 21st.
- Lutheran
- Sterling
- Alamosa
- Cedaredge
- Lamar
- Eaton
- Faith Christian
- Skyview Academy
- Colorado Springs Christian
- Bayfield
- Eagle Ridge Academy
- Platte Valley
- Prospect Ridge Academy
- DSST-Montview
- University
- Englewood (comes into 3A for post-season from Colorado 7 league)
- La Junta
- St Mary’s Academy
- Coal Ridge
- Jefferson Academy
- Bennett
- Centauri
- St Mary’s
- Liberty Common
- Colorado Academy
- Valley
- Delta
- Resurrection Christian
- Peak to Peak
- Vanguard
- Montezuma Cortez
- DSST-College View
- Stargate
- Kent Denver
- Buena Vista
- Gunnison
