5A girls volleyball: Hotly-contested first day of play goes late into the night
By Brad Cochi/CHSAANow.com
Photo: Brad Cochi/CHSAANow
COLORADO SPRINGS – Playing in the Class 5A bracket on Day 1 of the 2021 girls volleyball state championships was a test of talent, willpower and patience.
Out of eight matches, two went five sets, three more went four, and one of three sweeps even included a single game that wasn’t settled until the score was 30-28. At the end of a day that began at 8 a.m. and didn’t wrap up until 10:20 p.m., long after the other four classifications had left The Broadmoor World Arena and only because the final two 5A matches were played simultaneously, the stage had been set for Day 2.
Finally, four teams – No. 1 Cherry Creek, No. 4 Mountain Vista, No. 3 Grandview and No. 2 Chaparral – had advanced to the championship quarterfinals.
“It was super hard because we got here at nine to watch the first match and then it was like, practice a little, go lay around in the hotel room, that kind of stuff,” Mountain Vista senior Amanda Wright said. “It was hard because we had to come ready to play we had to get our minds mentally ready for it. I think we did a good job staying in it mentally.”
For Mountain Vista, getting through Thursday without a loss in the double-elimination Olympic crossover bracket meant getting past longtime rival Valor Christian. Following a first-round bye and a long wait, the Golden Eagles did just that, coming from down 2-0 to beat the No. 5 Eagles in one of the day’s epics, 23-25, 22-25, 25-23, 25-21, 15-13.
Rallying for a rivalry victory on the big stage was a stark contrast from the Golden Eagles’ performance at the last state tournament, in which they were eliminated in the first round of the pandemic-modifie format.
“I think it was crazy because the first two sets we were kind of out of it, but then flipping our mindset and winning those last three sets was one of the best feelings we’ve had all season,” Wright said. “I think because of last season it caused us to be mentally tough for this season to come to state and not lose a game in the first round. The seniors who were on varsity last year as juniors, we all really want it because of what happened last season.”
Following first-round byes of their own, Cherry Creek swept No. 8 Ralston Valley, Grandview swept No. 11 Legend and Chaparral swept No. 7 Broomfield.
To reach the second-round matches on Thursday, it took Ralston Valley four games to put away No. 9 Highlands Ranch, Valor Christian needed four to get past No. 12 Rock Canyon, Legend trailed 2-0 against No. 6 Rampart before eventually pulling off the upset in five, and Broomfield downed No. 10 Pueblo West in four.
In Friday’s championship quarterfinals, Cherry Creek will face Mountain Vista at 2 p.m. and Grandview will play Chaparral at 3:30 p.m.
In the first consolation round, Rampart and Valor Christian will kick things off at 8 a.m., Pueblo West and Ralston Valley will face one another at 9:30 a.m., Highlands Ranch will take on Broomfield at 11 a.m. and Rock Canyon will play Legend at 12:30 p.m.
