3A girls volleyball: No. 9 Resurrection Christian stuns No. 1 Lamar and other first-day action

DENVER – No. 9 Resurrection Christian gave the previously unbeaten No. 1 Lamar Thunder more than they could handle in the Class 3A second round.

Coming into the playoffs, the now 25-1 Thunder had lost only three sets all season, but that number soon doubled on Thursday as the Cougars completed a 3-1 upset (25-27, 25-20, 25-21, 25-22), punching their quarterfinals ticket. Head coach Ben Reeser said after facing multiple Class 4A teams in the latter part of their regular season, his group wasn’t intimated by Lamar’s stature.

“We’ve played as good or better competition the last few weeks leading up to this very much on purpose,” said Reeser, whose team improved to 19-8 on the year.

Reeser’s prior planning indeed paid off. The Cougars were one point away from winning the first set and took the final three in convincing fashion.

“It was a blast,” said RCS junior captain Sophia Knevelbaard. “We all lean on each other as teammates, we all love each other and encourage each other. I think that is what brought us through is we didn’t get down on ourselves or get mental. It’s such a mental game. We sticked together through that and we made some great plays.”

In the first set, RCS battled back from an early six-point deficit to take a 23-20 late lead. It wouldn’t last, however, as the Thunder benefited from a few costly Cougars errors to secure their lone set win. Still, the Cougars near set win provided a crucial bit of added optimism.

“We realized that we were so close and that we could do it,” Knevelbaard said. “I think we made the extra play and became smarter… Our defense was crazy and our hitters found great spots — great options from setters, too.”

Set two was just as entertaining as the first. Lamar, riding off the momentum of its first win, jumped out to a 12-7 advantage before RCS answered with a 13-2 run to ultimately tie the match. Up 23-20 in the third set, Resurrection Christian’s Mackenzie Flikkema’s kill brought it to set point and Kailey Kemp scored the final two kills.

The possible upset was now well within reach, and sophomore Emmaline Morris made it official with her match-point kill in the fourth set.

Resurrection Christian will face No. 5 Alamosa in the quarterfinals on Friday. The Mean Moose won 3-1 over Faith Christian in the second round.

On the other side of the bracket, No. 6 University swept No. 3 Platte Valley in the second round to reach the quarterfinals. University will face No. 2 Eaton, which swept No. 7 Centauri in the second round.

In first-round action, Resurrection Christian swept No. 8 Valley, Alamosa won 3-1 over Manitou Springs, University swept No. 11 Liberty Common and No. 7 Centauri won 3-1 over No. 10 Delta.