A new feature on the Colorado Preps website this year involves a rundown of the best volleyball matches for the week. We will list our picks as the ten best or most important matches of the week regardless of class. Here’s our week three breakdown.
CLASS 1A: #1 Kit Carson at #2 La Veta (Friday)
The two highly ranked clubs played two exciting matches a year ago with state champion Kit Carson rallying for victories in both. In the regular season contest, La Veta led the Wildcats 2-1 before Kit Carson won the final two sets. In the state finals, the clubs were tied one set apiece with La Veta earning a seven-point advantage in game three. Kit Carson though regrouped to win the game and a second consecutive state championship in four sets.
Kit Carson started the quest for a third straight title last week by downing Burlington in three quick sets. Cally Rady hammered down eight kills and freshman Tess Johnson added six. Jordyn Weeks also served up six aces.
La Veta picked up four wins in tournament last Saturday and did not drop a set while blanking Sierra Grande, John Mall, Center and Crowley County. Returning all-staters Nya Sciacca (36) and Desi Ortivez (33) combined for 69 kills on the day.
CLASS 1A: #6 Weldon Valley at #10 Prairie (Tuesday)
CLASS 1A: #3 Fleming at #4 Briggsdale (Thursday)
We combine these two matches because they’re both very important to the North Central conference chase. All four teams are ranked in the Top 10 and will face each other twice in league play. Pressure this week may be on Prairie and Briggsdale as league champions will likely have to sweep their home matches.
Briggsdale (3-1) has played the most matches. After dropping their opener to 2A #6 Union Colony Prep, the Falcons blitzed Haxtun, Sedgwick County and Merino in tournament play last weekend. The win over Merino (2-1) was especially crucial as it could give the Falcons the upper hand in district tournament seeding.
For Fleming, Thursday’s match marks their season opener. They return top setter Kendyl Kirkwood (910 assists) and top hitter Whitney Chintala (539 kills) from last year’s state semifinal team. They went 2-1 against the Falcons last year; dropping the opener in five sets before scoring wins in the last two.
Weldon Valley won all eight league matches last year to capture the championship and started this season with an easy win at Peetz. Kenndra Filter and LizAnn Jones tied for the team lead with seven kills and Hope Baessler dropped in five aces.
Prairie has not played this season so the Tuesday contest marks the return of standout Hannah Kinnison. After leading the team in hitting during both her freshman and sophomore seasons, she missed her junior campaign with an injury. She’s back in the lineup and hopes to lead the Mustangs back to the state tournament where they finished two years ago.
CLASS 2A: #3 Wiggins at #9 Akron (Tuesday)
It’s only week three of the season but the outcome from this one should play a major role in the upper division standings of the Lower Platte. Yuma is the defending state champion and until someone beats the Indians, they must be considered the favorite. 1A Merino should also be in the mix. And the winner of this one could also contend for the league championship.
Wiggins is coming off back-to-back semifinal appearances and began strong in 2019 with a three-game sweep of 3A Bennett last week. It was their 45th win over the past three seasons. They return Paige Fineganm and Bre Gilliland upfront.
Akron opened with a three-set sweep of Wray last week allowing just 38 points overall. The Rams won just two matches in 2017 but followed up with 13 victories in 2018. Now they begin this season ranked in the Top 10. Key hitters returning including Sara Wylie and Quincy Basler.
CLASS 4A/5A: #1 Lewis Palmer at #10 Grandview (Thursday)
Two of the most storied programs in Colorado get together for a highly anticipated cross-classification bout this week. Lewis Palmer has won the last three 4A state championships and five since 2013. They’re currently sixth all-time in championships with eight. One more will tie them with Eaton and Evergreen for fourth all-time. Grandview has five titles in school history including back-to-back in both 2004-05 and 2013-14.
The Rangers get their season started on Tuesday with another tough assignment against #10 Coronado (4A) so it’s a difficult opening week. Coach Wade Baxter will debut quite a few new faces as the top six hitters from last year’s club all graduated. The top returnee is Danielle Norman (55). Gianna Bartalo is the expected leader after topping the Rangers with 451 digs last year. She also dished out 60 assists.
Grandview already has five matches on their resume this year, winning two and dropping three at the Regis Volleyball Jam. Two of the losses were to second ranked Chaparral and a third was against top ranked Cherokee Trail. They moved past both Castle View and Pine Creek. They also face Mountain Vista on Tuesday before focusing on the Rangers.
Elsa Lamphere (53 kills) led the Wolves in hitting at Regis. Addison O’Grady added 28 and Isabel Bennett 21. Sarah Majka paced the defensive effort with 48 digs.
CLASS 3A: #2 Lutheran at #8 Valley (Thursday)
CLASS 3A: #4 Faith Christian at #9 Resurrection Christian (Thursday)
We again group a pair of matches in the same listing as results will impact future post-season seeding. The Metro and Patriot seem to be the dominant conferences in Class 3A again this year so anytime the conferences square off, it draws attention.
Despite not playing a match, defending state champion Lutheran somehow dropped from number one to number two in the latest 3A volleyball rankings. The Lions went 29-2 last year in claiming another state championship trophy and return player of the year Payton Brgoch (434 kills) and top setter Kennedy Johnson (558 assists).
Against Valley, they face one of the top all-around players in Colorado in Delaney Eckhardt. As a junior, she pulled off the rare feat of leading her team in kills (257) and assists (424). She had just three kills in a three-set loss to Lutheran last year but added 13 assists.
Resurrection Christian enters the week without a match but gets in a nice test with #7 Lyons (2A) on Tuesday before meeting Faith Christian on Thursday. The Cougars should get a win in their opener since the Lions are missing their top player Taylor Maguire who is out for the year with an injury. Sophomore Jeorgia Jones (168 kills) is the Cougars top offensive threat this year.
Faith Christian will see their first action of the season on Thursday. The Eagles are coming off a 20-win season that ended with a loss to Lutheran in the state tournament. They also fell to Resurrection Christian (3-1) in tournament play. Makenna Hachen had a team best 12 kills in the loss and should be the Eagles’ first option at the net this year. Allure Padilla also returns after collecting 31 assists in the match.
CLASS 1A/2A: #1 Kit Carson at #4 Limon (Thursday)
As mentioned, Kit Carson has a very important match with La Veta coming up on Friday but the Wildcats must avoid looking past a very good Limon club the night before. The Badgers are ranked fourth in Class 2A this week and hope to build on a solid appearance in last year’s state tournament.
The Badgers should be 1-0 going into the contest as they’re favored in a season opener with Deer Trial on Tuesday. Four key seniors, Amy Weisensee, Sidney Hines, Brooke Younger and Lauren Stang, return for the Badgers along with sophomore Trista Marx.
CLASS 2A/3A: #8 Hoehne vs #5 Alamosa (Tuesday)
CLASS 2A: #4 Limon vs #8 Hoehne (Saturday)
Already 3-0, Hoehne has a chance to rack up a pair of impressive wins and grab valuable RPI points in the process as they meet two returning state tournament teams. They already have two wins over state qualifiers from last year as they opened by beating both Swink (3-1) and Del Norte (3-0). A third victory came against Swallows Charter.
Again Swink, Autumn Gutierrez registered 10 kills and Averie Navarrette eight. Kelsey Ferraro (18) and Jocelyn Veltri (12) also combined for 30 assists. Four players also served up three aces.
In the win over Del Norte, Navarrette paced the hitters with 12 kills and Gutierrez added six. Ferraro and Veltri each finished with 13 assists. Velti added 10 digs to tie for team honors with Nevaeh Martinez.
Alamosa also has a three-set sweep of Del Norte. And it stretched their regular season winning streak to 24 straight. They’ve not lost a regular season battle since the 2017 finale against Pagosa Springs. It’s also a big week for the Moose as after Hoehne, they venture to the Glenwood Springs Tournament and will have a good battle with Coal Ridge coming up on Friday.
