The Denver Coliseum is going to be very busy in a few short hours.

Starting at 8 a.m. on Thursday, some 60 teams will head to the Coliseum for the annual three-day free-for-all that is the state girls volleyball tournament. By 6 p.m. on Saturday – or somewhere in the neighborhood thereof – the field will be whittled down to 10 teams battling to become state champion across the state’s five classifications.

There weren’t an abundance of surprises in last weekend’s regional round, though only one classification – Class 5A – saw the 12 host teams advance to state.

The biggest underdog moving on came in 3A, where 26th-seeded Centauri dispatched both host Bennett and The Academy to make the state field.

Here is a quick overview of each of the five classes headed into play Thursday morning:

Class 5A

The Continental League has four state qualifiers, including three of the top four seeds. Chaparral (23-2) ran the table on the league this fall and the team’s only losses came to Fossil Ridge and Valor Christian. Kai Kofoed is second in 5A in kills to Mountain Vista’s Bridge Malone. … Legend boasts 5A’s leading digger in Chiara Cristinzio. … Valor Christian (24-1) is the two-time defending champion and the team has dropped only three sets since a loss to Fossil Ridge on Oct. 15. Chloe Elarton leads 5A in assists at 10 per set. … Pine Creek has won 15 in a row going into Thursday’s first round. … Cherry Creek has taken 10 in a row.

Top 4 Seeds: 1. Chaparral, 2. Valor Christian, 3. Mountain Vista, 4. Legend

Defending state champion: Valor Christian

Team to watch: Fossil Ridge didn’t lose an in-state match this season, as the No. 4 SaberCats (22-4) dropped four out of five matches in an out-of-state tourney in early October. But the 2023 state runner-up also handed Valor Christian its first loss since 2021 and defeated top-seeded Chaparral back on Sept. 4. Senior Erin Herrmann leads the team in kills and blocks and hitting percentage. The team was the No. 7 seed a year ago, but knocked off Chaparral twice before falling to Valor in five sets.

Class 4A

Thompson Valley just missed out on a three-peat last November, falling in five sets to Palmer Ridge. But the Eagles (24-1) have to be considered a big favorite this weekend. The team’s only loss came to 5A’s No. 1 Chaparral, and senior Kayla Kauffman leads the state in hitting percentage at .617 (teammate Tatum Sharp is second). Ashlyn Tafoya averages 10.6 assists per set and led the state with 861 assists. … Four of No. 2 Lewis-Palmer’s six losses came to 5A powers, and the Rangers also fell to Thompson Valley. Brooke Gennerman leads the state with 1,099 kills. … No. 10 University made the 3A title game a year ago, but is in its first run in 4A. … Pikes Peak rivals Cheyenne Mountain and Palmer Ridge meet in the first round after splitting two matches in the regular season. Along with Lewis-Palmer, the trio have combined to claim 14 of the previous 16 4A championships.

Top 4 Seeds: 1. Thompson Valley, 2. Lewis-Palmer, 3. Palisade, 4. Battle Mountain

Defending state champion: Palmer Ridge

Team to watch: Palisade was the sixth seed a year ago, and went 1-2 for an early exit. This season the Bulldogs (22-3) opened with a victory over 5A state qualifier Cherry Creek, defeated No. 5 Montrose twice, handed No. 4 Battle Mountain its only loss and defeated No. 8 Lutheran. The team’s only loss since August came to 3A’s Village, and Palisade brings to the table one of the classification’s top set-up talents in Braeleigh MacAskill (10.2 assists per set).

Class 3A

The final four teams in the 2023 state tournament all came from the Patriot League. That league has five of the 12 teams competing at the Coliseum, including top seeds Eaton and Platte Valley and defending champion Resurrection Christian. … Platte Valley (22-3) boasts one of the state’s top hitters in senior Karsyn Fetzer, who leads 3A with five kills a set, and a setter in Lauryn Uyemura who averaged 10.2 assists a set. … Eaton’s Annabelle Dejager wasn’t far behind Fetzer, finishing third in 3A in kills. … The Intermountain League had three teams make it to state, led by fourth-seeded Alamosa. Bayfield upset Stargate School in Region 10, and as mentioned Centauri was the biggest underdog to move on. … No. 6 Lamar dropped only two matches during the regular season, both in tournament play. Brooklyn Robbins is second in kills in 3A with 4.9 a set.

Top 4 Seeds: 1. Eaton, 2. Platte Valley, 3. Village, 4. Alamosa

Defending state champion: Resurrection Christian

Team to watch: Village is an unknown commodity, as the Mountaineers are in their first year of CHSAA competition and played a schedule that was heavy with 5A, 4A and out-of-state teams. That said, No. 3 Village (22-3) defeated two of 4A’s top five teams in Palisade and Montrose late in the season, and two losses came in a tournament to 5A state qualifiers Legend and Cherry Creek. Erika Sayer, Lilian Edwards and Olivia Plenti were the top three in hitting in 3A.

Class 2A

The top eight seeds advanced out of regionals, but the other four tourneys saw minor upsets. Sanford defeated No. 9 Meeker in five sets to reach state, and seeds 13-15 (Haxtun, Vail Christian and Hoehne) also made it to state. … Simla moved up to 2A after reaching the 1A title game a year ago. The Cubs’ only loss this season came to 1A’s No. 1 Merino. Meadow Nussbaum leads 2A in assists with 803, and Carlee Cox is fourth in kills with 308. … Sedgwick County has played in the past four title games, winning in 2021-22. A potential second-round match awaits with No. 7 Rye, which has won 14 in a row. … Defending champion Wiggins is the sixth seed, and has played well down the stretch.

Top 4 Seeds: 1. Simla, 2. Sedgwick County, 3. Lyons, 4. Swink

Defending state champion: Wiggins

Team to watch: Colorado Springs Christian played a 3A-heavy schedule competing in the Tri-Peaks League. The No. 5 Lions (21-4) lost three matches to 3A squads competing at state, along with 1A’s No. 1 Merino. The team has only played one of the 2A state qualifiers this season, defeating defending state champion Wiggins in tournament play. Senior Abigail Perry leads 2A in hitting percentage (.374) and aces (88, and also had 492 assists. CSCS draws Sanford in the first round, with the winner advancing to face No. 4 Swink.

Class 1A

Eleven of the top 12 regional seeds advanced to the Coliseum. The only exception came in Region 8, where Weldon Valley upset a Flatirons Academy squad that had won 15 matches in a row. … Two of Fleming’s five losses this season came to top-seeded Merino, but the Wildcats also own a sweep of No. 2 Idalia back on Oct. 25. … Dove Creek’s Ralynn Hickman leads 1A with 381 kills. Setter Hannah Berry is fourth in assists with 673. The Bulldogs (23-1), who made the 2023 semis, haven’t played any of the other 1A state qualifiers in 2024 though. … No. 11 Briggsdale meets No. 6 Stratton in the first round. The Falcons swept Stratton in a tournament match just 11 days ago, giving the team a confidence boost going into state.

Top 4 Seeds: 1. Merino, 2. Idalia, 3. Fleming, 4. Otis

Defending state champion: Merino
Team to watch: Merino is chasing a fifth-consecutive championship, and the schools’ 15th title in the sport overall. The Rams (23-1) have only lost a match to 3A Sterling in tournament play in 2024, and have dropped only eight sets in 24 matches. Juniors Jaylyn Lynch (4.3 kills per set) and Kya Piel (6.0 digs) provide the spark, and senior Brooklyn Sutter has 782 assists in 75 sets – tops in 1A. Merino also won five championships in a row from 1987-91.