Young Cherry Creek girls volleyball squad progressing through regular season

Annual roster turnover is a natural part of high school sports. A strong senior class may create some success, but a regroup often becomes necessary in the subsequent season.

That’s essentially the situation Cherry Creek girls volleyball has been faced with one season after winning the Class 5A crown. The Bruins graduated seven seniors but thanks to the depth of head coach Steve Huntingdale’s program, they remain capable of making some more playoff noise.

However, things haven’t come as easy for Cherry Creek so far in 2022. Following the Bruins’ final non-league game on Wednesday — a 3-0 loss to Legend — they stand 5-4 entering 5A/4A Centennial League play.

Huntingdale said that many of his players, no matter the level of experience, have had to adjust to doing more this season.

“We have several new faces that have pretty significant roles and they’re learning how to manage that,” Huntingdale said. “There’s going to be some ups and downs and I feel okay about that. Our returning starters are doing a nice job, but I think that their roles are elevated as they’re replacing some senior starters from last year. I do think we’re just growing and learning as a team, but I feel pretty confident in what we will become.”

Setter Anna Van Wyk was a significant contributor last season and now in her senior year, she has taken on a larger leadership role. One of Van Wyk’s main focuses has been to bring her younger teammates along while getting them up to the intensity of varsity play. Of course, that takes time, but she has been happy with how the Bruins have meshed.

“I’m personally really happy with how we’ve progressed so far,” said Van Wyk, who leads the team with 87 assists. “We were kind of unsure of how all the other teams across the state would look and obviously how we would look with a newer and younger team, but I’m really happy with how we’ve done so far, and we’ve been getting a lot better.”

Both Van Wyk and fellow senior Jaida Johnson were quick to name sophomore Candela Ruano Fiuza as an underclassman who has impressed, particularly at serving. In 28 sets played through Sept. 14, “Candy” leads the Bruins with 24 aces.

“Candy is giving us a new look,” Johnson said. “It’s super fun for us middles to be able to run something new with Anna also being able to hit. Her serving and defense is great.”

Among other newer faces, Huntingdale said junior Mae Manthe has “embraced” the libero position — she tops the Bruins with 4.3 digs per set. Sophomore Ava Ross also caught Huntingdale’s attention following an 11-kill breakout performance against Rampart in late August.

Playing for a powerhouse program like Cherry Creek comes with some pressure, and it’s only amplified when other teams are looking to upset the defending state champs. The veteran Van Wyk is comfortable with navigating her Bruins through that, however.

“Recognizing that we have that pressure on us and figuring out how we can still play free and loose and not really having to worry about that too much while we’re actually in games, but then coming back in practice and really working hard to maintain that (is important),” Van Wyk said.

Cherry Creek begins league play at Eaglecrest (4-1) on Tuesday.