We waited until Wednesday to post our weekly 3A volleyball report since we wanted to recap several important matches from early in the week. Several contests on Tuesday featured heavyweights from the division squaring off and facing challenges from highly ranked programs from larger classifications.
#3 University began what will be strong stretch of matches by outlasting #3 Holy Family (4A) in five sets. The Bulldogs dropped the first set but rallied to take the second and third sets and then held on in game five 15-8.
Ali Travis paced Holy Family with 22 kills and Freshman Anna Hodell added 11. Peyton Frank had 40 diggs while Carly Trostel (28) and Morgan Marino (23) combined for 51 assists. University has not posted stats from the win.
The win kept the Bulldogs unbeaten at 6-0 but they still have a Thursday date with #2 Lutheran on Thursday and #1 Yuma (2A) on Saturday left on the schedule this week.
Against Lutheran, they face a Lions team that roared through the Jefferson Academy tournament with four two-game sweeps. Included in that run was a win over Faith Christian in the championship match. They’ve also posted quality wins over Valley and Resurrection Christian on their way to a 6-0 start.
It’s no surprise that Payton Brgoch leads the Lions with 61 kills and 14 blocks. She had 13 kills in two sets against Faith Christian which was just two off the season high set earlier against Valley in a three-set match. Kennedey Johnson had five aces in a win over Arrupe Jesuit and sits at 14 for the season. She also leads the Lions with 71 assists.
Yuma entered the week at 6-0 and will face fellow top 10-member Akron on the road Thursday night before facing Lutheran two days later. Chasey Blach (66) and Cody Robinson (48) are top returning hitters for the Indians. They won the first two sets against University last year but watched the Bulldogs rally back for a five-set win.
#1 Eaton took out #4 Faith Christian in three quick sets on Tuesday. The Reds were seeing their first game action since August 25th but showed little rust in allowing only 45 total points over the three sets. We also need to make a correction for the Reds and their schedule. We indicated they played in the Eaglecrest Tournament over the weekend but that event is actually set for this Friday and Saturday. Other teams in the field include Fossil Ridge and Cheyenne Mountain.
Also looming in the near future for Eaton is a date with 4A #1 Lewis Palmer on September 22nd. The Reds host the highly anticipated match.
Faith Christian registered just 16 kills in the match with five apiece coming from Sophia Keister and Ryanne Ferro. Allure Padilla finished with 15 assists. The Eagles dropped to 4-2 overall and they return to the court on Thursday against another ranked Patriot league opponent in Platte Valley.
Platte Valley enters Thursday ranked 5th in Class 5A and a record of 5-2. Both losses were suffered last Saturday at the Lewis Palmer Tournament. They beat Centauri and 4A Montrose while dropping matches to 5A Windsor and 4A Pueblo West.
Claire Smith leads the Broncos with 53 kills but Annika Zenk (47) and Faith Fetzer (46) are very close to that number. Kassi Shoemaker has nine aces through seven matches and is the top defender with 84 diggs. Maddie Uyemura tops the club with 157 assists. Bella Vezzani (67 diggs) has been in double figures in each match including 14 against Faith Christian.
Two important early matches were played in the Tri Peaks on Tuesday night with Manitou Springs and La Junta collecting wins. Manitou Springs worked four sets before beating St Mary’s and La Junta came back from down two sets to none to stun Salida in five.
Bianca Good sparked the La Junta rally as the senior finished with 25 kills and eight blocks. Hayden Mayo added 10 kills. Four players had at least 20 diggs and the Tigers were led by Rylee Lovato with 23 and Mayo with 22. Haley Eckhart picked up 53 of the team’s 55 assists.
Manitou Springs collected 22 kills from Giulla Vidossi and eight from MaKayla Cully. Teagan Nevada and Belle Brown each registered three blocks and Abbie Boren helped the defense with a dozen diggs. She also topped the Mustangs with 32 assists.
St Mary’s picked up eight kills from Jillian Keck and 20 assists from Alexa LaMack.
The wins kept La Junta and Manitou Springs unbeaten in the Tri Peaks (2-0) and tied with #8 Colorado Springs Christian for the conference lead. The Lions kept pace with a quick three-set win over Florence on Tuesday. Christa Vogt and Abby Miller both had 10 kills for CSCS.
All three leaders are back in action on Thursday. Colorado Springs Christian goes to Ellicott; La Junta entertains Atlas Prep and Manitou Springs visits James Irwin.
#9 Coal Ridge picked up an important league win over Roaring Fork on Tuesday. The Rams were 5-1 entering the match but the Titans rolled to a rather easy win (25-10, 25-12, 25-18). The win was the third straight for Coal Ridge and pushed their record to 5-3. Two of their losses are against 4A clubs and their lone 3A setback came early against Middle Park. Up next is a non-conference game with Paonia on Friday.
Middle Park stayed in the rankings at #10 despite dropping three of four matches at the Thomas Jefferson Invitational over the weekend. They lost in three sets to Evergreen, Rangeview and Thomas Jefferson; but those losses will only enhance the Panthers’ RPI. The lone win came against Platte Canyon.
They see their only match of the week on Thursday at home against Clear Creek.
#6 Alamosa pushed their unbeaten mark to 10-0 by beating Montezuma Cortez (3-0) and Buena Vista (3-0) last week. Conference play begins in Pagosa Springs on Saturday where the Moose face both the host Pirates and Bayfield. Before Centauri broke through with a championship last year, Bayfield and Pagosa Springs had dominated the IML with top two finishes so they both will be good tests for the Moose. It’s the first of two league meetings with both opponents.
Valley dropped to 7th this week following a 1-3 showing at the Lewis Palmer Tournament. The Vikings closed with a nice win over Greeley West (2-1) but lost to Thompson Valley, Ralston Valley and Bayfield earlier in the event. The Vikings have just one match this week and it’s Thursday against Roosevelt.
