The Chaparral Showcase dominates the Labor Day weekend volleyball slate. It gets started on Friday morning and wraps up on Saturday with a whopping 35 teams on the schedule. There are three different categories with champions crowned in the gold, red, and blue pools.
The Gold division will draw the most attention as ranked clubs Grandview, Chaparral, Castle View, Thomas Jefferson, Highlands Ranch and Holy Family compete for the championship. That bracket is not a pool play event as it’s drawn up as a regular tournament bracket with each team guaranteed four matches.
First round pairings are set up in this order from top to bottom on the bracket:
- Grandview vs Fairview
- Regis vs Fruita Monument
- Chaparral vs Ponderosa
- Fort Collins vs Castle View
- Columbine vs Rock Canyon
- Thomas Jefferson vs Pine Creek
- Cherokee Trail vs Highlands Ranch
- Holy Family vs Air Academy
First round matches are at 3:00pm on Friday with the championship match at 6:30pm on Saturday night. All matches are at Gold Crown.
The Red Pool consists of the following teams
- Palisade
- Frederick
- Dakota Ridge
- Pueblo South
- Denver South
- Rocky Mountain
- Monarch
- Boulder
- Green Mountain
- Legacy
The Blue Pool involves nine schools
- DSST-Byers
- Kent Denver
- Denver Waldorf
- Westminster
- Platte Canyon
- Pomona
- Smoky Hill
- Adams City
- Grand Junction
There are several other volleyball matches/tournaments of note on the weekend slate.
- Lutheran went 1-1 on the first day of their trip to Florida for a tournament there. The 5th ranked Lions (3A) continue play on both Friday and Saturday before returning back to the Centennial state. It is their first action of the season.
- #7 Kit Carson meets #9 Genoa Hugo (1A) on Friday as the Wildcats face their second straight opponent in as many days. The Wildcats lost in five sets to 2A #10 Limon on Thursday.
- The 10th ranked Badgers have a quick turnaround as they visit 3rd ranked Meeker on Friday. The Cowboys also worked five sets on Thursday as they edged Delta 3-2. They trailed 2-1 in that match before winning the final two games.
- Saturday includes a top 10 1A battle between #4 Wiley and #10 Sangre De Cristo. Wiley is unbeaten after sweeping Kim/Branson on Thursday. Sangre dropped a five set match to 3A Centauri back on Tuesday.
- #5 Dove Creek has a challenging Saturday as they meet 3A opponents Olathe and Gunnison as part of a three-team event. Norwood and Salida are two other teams in the field.