DENVER – Of all the teams that advanced to the girls volleyball state semifinals, no one made the trip as interesting as Cheyenne Mountain.

The Red-Tailed Hawks dropped the first two sets to longtime rival Lewis-Palmer and looked lost in the process. But coach Ellen Cross pulled her captains aside and demanded that they bring up the energy level and maybe even have a little fun.

Maybe if they pretended to have some fun down 2-0, they might actually a little by accident.

And that’s exactly what happened. The Hawks rallied behind a more direct (powerful) approach to beat the Rangers 18-25, 19-25, 25-20, 25-15, 15-10 in a stunning reverse sweep.

“I pulled Anna [Blamires], Kena [Parthen] and Landry [Roberts] aside,” Cross said. “They’ve been our pulse all year and I told them that I need you to go be you. I need the goofiness, I need the celebrations, I need you to be you.”

And that’s how they approached the rest of the match. They made a concerted effort to play with a little more control on the first touch. That gave setter Camryn Noleen a little more time to get settled and start delivering more precise passes.

And once those were placed perfectly for the three hitters, good things started happening for the Hawks.

“We had to slow down that first contact and give time to the setter to get to the ball,” Roberts said. “We had to have better communication, and we know that tipping is not going to beat a good team. It’s about power.”

Swing big, dream big. That’s what the Red-Tailed Hawks, along with nine other teams, have in mind when they head to The Denver Coliseum on Saturday. There is still some work to do in order to solidify the semifinal matchups, but a lot of teams are there.

And Saturday is going to make for a fun day in the old barn.

Staying alive

Six teams in each classification are alive in the state volleyball tournaments. There will be one more round of elimination games before the semifinals matchups are set.

Class 5A

  • Elimination Game 1: Mountain Vista vs. Legend – winner plays Fossil Ridge
  • Elimination Game 2: Cherry Creek vs. Pine Creek – winner plays Valor Christian

Class 4A

  • Elimination Game 1: Lewis-Palmer vs. Windsor – winner plays Thompson Valley
  • Elimination Game 2: Lutheran vs. Mead – winner plays Cheyenne Mountain

Class 3A

  • Elimination Game 1: Platte Valley vs. Sterling – winner plays Eaton
  • Elimination Game 2: Alamosa vs. Resurrection Christian – winner plays The Village

Class 2A

  • Elimination Game 1: Wiggins vs. Haxtun – winner plays Simla
  • Elimination Game 2: CSCS vs. Lyons – winner plays Sedgwick County

Class 1A

  • Elimination Game 1: Idalia vs. Briggsdale – winner plays Merino
  • Elimination Game 2: McClave vs. Stratton – winner plays Fleming