Palmer Ridge and Merino Take Home Tournament Titles

It was a busy Saturday for Colorado Preps as we visited two tournaments in Northern Colorado but we got a look at three defending state champions.  Merino (1A) was on hand at the Northeastern Junior College tournament in Sterling while Eaton (3A) and Palmer Ridge (4A) both were in the talented bracket at the Northern Colorado Volleyball Slam in Kersey.

Results for the tournaments are below and we’ve added some additional notes on top 10 teams in action on Saturday.  We also had a chance to visit with five different coaches on the day from Merino, Dayspring Chrsitian, Palmer Ridge, Brighton and University.  Those interviews are also below.

NORTHERN COLORADO VOLLEYBALL SLAM

As we mentioned a couple of teams during the week, Eaton organized the first annual event but matches were played in Kersey at Platte Valley high school due to ongoing construction at Eaton high school.  12-teams were on hand and seven of them entered the field ranked in their respective class and the list included defending state champions Eaton (3A) and Palmer Ridge (4A).

• Championship:  Palmer Ridge topped Brighton 25-18, 25-20
• 3^rd: University downed Mead 25-21, 25-14
• 5^th: Holy Family beat Bayfield 25-18, 27-25
• 7^th: Longmont vs Fossil Ridge
• 9^th: Eaton outlasted Platte Valley 25-17, 21-25, 15-10
• 11^th: Discovery Canyon stopped Loveland 25-22, 25-20

Colorado Preps spoke with coaches who took home the top three places.

PALMER RIDGE – Erica Bradley

BRIGHTON – Robin Surovik

UNIVERSITY – Jared Rudiger

NORTHEASTERN JUNIOR COLLEGE TOURNAMENT

When Peetz pulled out of the tournament, the event was turned into a round-robin tournament where all five teams got a chance to face another.  Top ranked Merino (1A) came away with the title as they went 4-0 on the day including a thrilling five-set win over #6 Dayspring Christian (2A).  For the Eagles, it was their only blemish as they swept #9 Holyoke (2A) and Caliche in three sets and outlasted #8 Otis (1A) in four sets.

• Champion: Merino (4-0)
• 2^nd: Dayspring Christian (3-1)
• 3^rd: Holyoke (2-2)
• 4^th: Otis (1-3)
• 5^th: Caliche (0-4)

Colorado Preps did not get to stay for the entire tournament but we had a chance to visit with coaches at Merino and Dayspring Christian after their first two matches.

MERINO – Christian Sutter

DAYSPRING CHRISTIAN – Carrie Vogel

OTHER TOP 10 RESULTS

• 1A: #6 Kit Carson swept Cotopaxi 3-0 and improved to 3-2 as they’ve been one of the busiest teams statewide through the first two weeks.
• #9 Sangre De Cristo downed Del Norte 3-1 but lost to Sargent 3-0 in a three-team event. The T-Birds are 2-2 on the season but have played just one Class 1A opponent (Cheraw).
• 1A: #7 Haxtun took out #10 Stratton 2-0 and also beat Eads in two to win the three team bracket in Eads
• 2A: #3 Meeker scored a pair of nice wins at North Fork High School as they downed Telluride in four and Dolores in three.  They now stand at 3-0 on the young season.
• 4A: #10 Palisade bumped their mark to 2-1 as they topped 5A Overland in four sets.  It was their second win in as many nights as they also began league play with  3-1 decision over Steamboat Springs on Friday.