Just three days remain in the volleyball regular season so top 10 clubs and those on the playoff bubble have only a couple of chances remaining to make their case for a playoff berth. The Thursday slate involves many non-league games with many ranked teams looking to avoid past opponents to important battles during the weekend.
In Class 1A, #1 Fleming is coming off a tough three-set loss to #5 Merino and has 3A #2 Sterling on the schedule for Friday. They finish up the North Centra league schedule at Weldon Valley but the defending champs have already clinched the league crown. #2 Simla wrapped up the Black Forest crown on Tuesday night and #3 Wiley hopes to not look past Cheraw to Saturday’s league title showdown with #7 Springfield. #5 Merino wants to avoid a letdown from the Fleming win while #9 Kit Carson and Otis battle for regional tournament positioning. Both are league champions; Kit Carson in the High Plains and Otis in the YWKC after beating Idalia last night.
In 2A, #2 Denver Christian wrapped up the Mile High crown by beating Gilpin County on Wednesday. Union Colony was 13th in our latest combined rankings so the Timberwolves are in the regional bracket as well. #3 Meeker has a busy three-day stretch to close the season. After hosting Plateau Valley, the Cowboys face both Soroco (Friday) and Vail Christian (Saturday). Meeker shares the 2A West Slope lead with Vail Christian and the Saints created a two-game cushion over Soroco and Vail Mountain by beating Soroco last night. #5 Fowler has a big date with Rye coming up on Friday as that game will determine the Santa Fe title. Hoehne sits in third but is two games off the pace.
In Class 3A, #3 Lamar and Vanguard collide for the Tri Peaks championship. Lamar is unbeaten on the season and has not dropped a set this year. Vanguard is one game back in the league standings so a win puts them in position for the championship. #5 Montezuma Cortez has a very interesting game with 1A neighbor Dove Creek. Both are league champs and they have a combined record of 19-1.
In Class 4A, just three matches but all should be competitive. They’re all non-conference games but all should impact pairings for regionals next week. Lewis Palmer and Air Academy are the only two of the six teams involved likely not make the playoffs.
The 5A Top 10 schedule is focused on the final order of the Jeffco race. Ralston Valley clinched the championship by beating Valor Christian on Wednesday night. Columbine took home second with their victory over Chatfield and tonight’s match between Valor Christian and Lakewood determines fourth.
Below is the schedule involving ranked teams and farther down on the story, we also go through important matches outside the Top 10.
CLASS 1A
FINAL: #1 Fleming beat Weldon Valley 3-0
FINAL: #2 Simla beat Cripple Creek 3-0
FINAL: #3 Wiley beat Cheraw 3-0
FINAL: #5 Merino beat Prairie 3-0
FINAL: #7 Springfield beat Kim/Branson 3-2
FINAL: Otis beat #9 Kit Carson 3-2
CLASS 2A
FINAL: #2 Denver Christian beat Union Colony Prep 3-2
FINAL: #3 Meeker beat Plateau Valley 3-0
#4 Sedgwick County vs Burlington
FINAL: #5 Fowler beat Hoehne 3-0
FINAL: #8 Limon beat Flagler 3-2
CLASS 3A
FINAL: #3 Lamar beat Vanguard 3-0
FINAL: #5 Montezuma Cortez beat #10 Dove Creek (1A) 3-0
#8 University at Frontier Academy
CLASS 4A
FINAL: #1 Cheyenne Mountain beat Lewis Palmer 3-0
#4 Coronado vs Air Academy
#5 Mead at Thompson Valley
CLASS 5A
FINAL: #6 Columbine beat Pomona 3-0
FINAL: #7 Ralston Valley beat Bear Creek 3-0
FINAL: #10 Valor Christian beat Lakewood 3-1
OUTSIDE THE RANKINGS
FINAL: Elbert beat Evangelical Christian 3-1
Monte Vista (9-3) at Sargent (7-5)
FINAL: Weld Central beat Eagle Ridge Academy 3-2
FINAL: Skyview beat Fort Lupton 3-0
FINAL: Basalt beat Rifle 3-0
FINAL: Delta beat Roaring Fork 3-0
FINAL: Evergreen beat Littleton 3-0
NOTES: Simla has clinched the 1A Black Forest championship but the winner between Evangelical Chrsitian and Elbert ends up second. Both have one league loss to Simla and currently share the position. Elbert is ranked 13th in our latest combined volleyball rankings and is safely in the regional bracket but Evangelical Christian is 22nd and on the bubble going into the weekend. Monte Vista and Sargent play for second behind Del Norte in the 2A Southern Peaks. Sargent is 20th and Monte Vista 21st in latest combined polling so the winner drastically improves their chances of getting into regionals. Eagle Ridge Academy needs a win to stay one game up on Weld Central in the race for second behind Skyview in the 4A/3A Colorado. Eagle Ridge Academy is 18th in 3A combined rankings with Weld Central #22 in Class 4A. Skyview wraps up the championship by beating Fort Lupton. A win also keeps the Wolverines unbeaten on the season. Basalt and Delta share the 3A West Slope going into the final match of the season for both clubs. Basalt has the tiebreaker due to a win over Delta so they’re the champions if they get the win at Rifle. Basalt is not in the top 30 of combined rankings so a league title is their only route to the playoffs. Delta is 27th and needs a win at Roaring Fork to keep their hopes alive as a wildcard if Basalt beats Rifle as expected. Evergreen clinches the 4A Jeffco championship and a playoff berth with a win at Littleton. The Cougars share the top spot with Golden but have the head-to-head tiebreaker.
