The defending state champion, Fossil Ridge Sabercats, began their 2017 season by traveling to take on the Chaparral Wolverines. The Sabercats dropped their first set to Chaparral, but then didn’t look back, finishing with the 3-1 win. Tyler Lindgren picked up where she left off last year setting up 21 assists. Juniors Charlie Durbin and Emily Wind were big contributors in the match, with Wind leading the way with 17 kills, and Durbin with a game-high 28 digs.
With three matches under their belt, #2 Chatfield is already off to a great start. The Chargers have swept their first three opponents with their first victory coming against #10 Fairview, a team many believe could run the table with Fossil Ridge to compete for a Front Range League title. Chatfield has a few days off, and will square off against Valor Christian on Tuesday, September 5.
Rock Canyon nearly dropped their opening match against a Cherokee Trail team who just missed out on a top-10 ranking, but battled back to take the 5th set to get a 3-2 victory. The Jaguars were led by senior Keeley Davis who finished the night with a game-high 27 kills, and by junior Abi Leitner who set up 31 assists. Rock Canyon will take on Fruita Mountain in their first match of pool play at the Regis Volleyball Jam Tournament on Friday.
The #6 Cherry Creek Bruins played host to #5 Golden Eagles of Mountain Vista on Tuesday night as well. In a match up that pitted last year’s runner up against the team they defeated in a tiebreaker to advance, Cherry Creek had their chance to prove a point. Despite a great performance on either side of the net, with 47 combined assists from Emily Ettle and Ashley Hand, 27 digs from Molly Chapman, and 17 kills from Maya Borenstein, the Bruins came up just short falling 3-2. The Bruins take on Valor Christian Thursday in a 5A/4A matchup.
Sophomore Abby Blair served up three critical aces to help her Denver East Angels cruise past Boulder, 3-0. Senior Jumee Calhoun notched 29 assists in the match as well. Boulder was helped on either side of the net thanks to junior, Fiona Quinn’s 11 assists, and senior Kailey Reagan’s 10 digs. The Angels will take on Eaglecrest Thursday who enters the match with a 2-0 record.
Arapahoe will host Fort Collins Thursday. Arapahoe entered the season ranked #8, and while the Lambkins were not ranked, they did receive votes to be in that conversation.
Wednesday’s Ponderosa-Grandview match was one to not miss. A back and forth match with either team taking a set after the other, Ponderosa came out on top beating Grandview 3-2. Sophomores Jordyn Miller (Ponderosa) and Georgia Klumker (Grandview) were the two to watch. Miller dropped in a game-high 16 kills, while Klumker dug out a game-high 28 digs. Ponderosa was led by an incredible 43 assists from senior Abigail Hildenbrand. The Mustangs will enter this weekend’s Regis tournament coming off back-to-back wins against 5A teams.
Fairview began the season with high hopes at making a run for a league title, but after dropping their first two matches, the Knights will look to bounce back as they take on Thomas Jefferson in their first match of pool play in the Regis Volleyball Jam Tournament. The Spartans will be a tough opponent as they are led by a pair of juniors who can make an impact on either side of the net. Siale Sandoval leads the team in kills and digs with 37 and 31 respectively. Gracey Jarecke has put up 71 assists in the Spartans first two matches.
Looking to the weekend, the Regis Volleyball Jam highlights the schedule with several top 10 teams involved in the most competitive bracket. On paper, Pool One seems the deepest as it includes #4 Chaparral and #8 Arapahoe from 5A along with #7 Berthoud from 4A. Castle View, which garnered top 10 attention in the pre-season, is the fourth team competing.
Pool two involves Eagle Valley, Fairview, Cherokee Trail and Fort Collins. The Devils (4A) and Knights (5A) are ranked 10th in their respective class while the other two also received votes in the pre-season. Pool three is led by #3 Holy Family (4A) and Ponderosa who scored the big win over Grandview earlier in the week. Also sitting there are Fruita Monument, who spent time in the rankings last season and tradition rich Legend.
Host Regis is found in Pool 4 and is joined by 2nd ranked Rock Canyon (5A) and 9th ranked Thomas Jefferson (4A) along with out of state opponent St Teresa.
Matches open Friday night with the championship round set for Saturday evening.
