While most of the final weekend of the volleyball season is concentrated on season closing tournaments, there are a few conference races still up for grabs along with several attractive non-league battles on the schedule.  In lieu of our normal weekly volleyball reports, Colorado Preps will provide a daily update on the top matchups and what they mean to conference races and RPI.
Below is a quick list of the top remaining matches in all classifications and we’ll also publish tournament brackets throughout the week as they become available.
 

CLASS 5A

Chaparral at Rock Canyon (Tuesday)
Coronado at Rampart (Tuesday)
Pine Creek at Liberty (Tuesday)
Loveland at Fossil Ridge (Tuesday)
Lewis Palmer at Valor Christian (Tuesday)
Castle View at Chatfield (Tuesday)
Denver East at Castle View (Thursday)
Fruita Monument at Thomas Jefferson (Thursday)
NOTES:  Most important battle of the week is found Tuesday night as Chaparral and Rock Canyon square off for the coveted Continental crown.  Both teams are unbeaten in league play so the winner is the outright champion and the loser settles for second.  Chaparral also enters the week #1 in RPI and will host a regional.  Rock Canyon is 16th in RPI and trying to use the final week to sneak into the top 12 and host a tournament next week.  The CS Metro is another league that has yet to crown a champion.  Rampart (4-1) is tied with Coronado and Pine Creek (3-1) for the lead entering the final week so the Tuesday match between the Rams and Cougars will likely eliminate one team from the championship chase.  Pine Creek meets Liberty who is tied for fourth with Doherty (3-2) and just one game back.  Fossil Ridge has clinched the Front Range title but looks for a perfect run through the schedule against Loveland.  The Indians could use a win as they’re battling Rocky Mountain (both 9-2) for third place.  The rest of the schedule is filled with interesting non-league matchups including a highly attractive contest between Lewis Palmer and Valor Christian.  Valor is one of three unbeaten teams left in Colorado (Alamosa & Meeker) and the Rangers are ranked #1 in Class 4A.
 

CLASS 4A

Mesa Ridge at Classical Academy (Tuesday)
Woodland Park at Mesa Ridge (Thursday)
Holy Family at Niwot (Wednesday)
D’Evelyn at Evergreen (Thursday)
NOTES:  Classical Academy (6-0) starts the final week alone atop the Colorado Springs Metro chase.  Woodland Park and Mesa Ridge each have one loss so the two matchups at the top of our list should determine the top three spots.  Classical Academy clinches the title with a win on Tuesday and that would leave the Woodland Park-Mesa Ridge winner from Thursday the likely second place club.  The Evergreen-D’Evelyn matchup on Thursday is only important to the Jeffco standings if the Cougars lose at Littleton on Tuesday.  A win there gives Evergreen the league title as they enter the week with a two-game cushion on D’Evelyn.  Holy Family and Niwot are two clubs that could contend for a state championship berth so their matchup is important to post-season bracketing and RPI.  Niwot is 3rd in RPI with Holy Family 9th.  The Cougars shared the Northern crown with Longmont while Holy Family ended up second to Windsor in the Tri Valley.
 

CLASS 3A

Aspen at Cedaredge (Tuesday)
Skyview Academy at Faith Christian (Tuesday)
Sterling at Eaton (Tuesday)
Platte Valley at Sterling (Thursday)
Manitou Springs at La Junta (Tuesday)
NOTES:  The winner between Aspen-Cedaredge will end up second to Coal Ridge in the Western Slope.  The Titans have clinched the title and given both the Skiers and Bruins their only conference loss.  Faith Christian officially clinches the Metro crown by beating Skyview Academy.  The Eagles are tied with Lutheran in the top spot but Faith Christian won the head-to-head meeting earlier this month.  Eaton must get by Sterling to officially wrap up second place in the Patriot conference behind Platte Valley.  The Broncos have clinched the league championship but they also have a trip to Sterling later this week.  Sterling is tied with University for third place with both teams up on Valley by one game in the loss column.  Manitou Springs has locked down second place in the Tri Peaks behind Colorado Springs Christian.  The Mustangs are also fifth in RPI and a win over La Junta solidifies their grip on the advantage of hosting a regional tournament.
 

CLASS 2A

Dolores at Mancos (Tuesday)
Fowler at Swink (Tuesday)
NOTES:  Dolores has nailed down the runner-up spot in the San Juan and will be the top 2A seed from the conference.  The Bears are 10-1 in league play and tied with Dove Creek for the top spot but lost the head-to-head battle with the Bulldogs.  Mancos (7-5) could use a win to stay tied with Nucla for third place.  The Fowler-Swink game will not count to the Santa Fe league standings and it appears that Rye (12-1) has locked up the regular season championship.  Swink and Hoehne (11-2) have tied for second with Holly (9-4) in fourth.
 

CLASS 1A

District Tournaments will be played across the state with the top three teams from each advancing to regional tournaments next week.  Four at-large berths for the state tournament will be added after regionals but teams must advance through districts to be eligible.  The pairings are available here.
 

TOURNAMENTS

As mentioned, this is the final week of regular season activity for the largest four classifications and most teams will conclude the campaign at one of many weekend tournaments.  We are aware of events hosted by schools listed below and will release pairings throughout the week.  If you have a tournament not listed, please email us the schedule to [email protected].

  • Cheyenne Mountain
  • Dakota Ridge
  • Legend
  • Rangeview
  • Golden
  • Coal Ridge
  • Palmer Ridge
  • Evergreen
  • Erie
  • Rye
  • Byers
  • Mile High League Tournament (2A)
  • Western Slope League Tournament (2A)