Volleyball: Four of Five No. 1 Seeds Automatically Advance to Semifinals
Photo: PaulDiSalvoPhotography.com
DENVER – Four of the five No. 1 seeds in the Girls Volleyball State Championships secured spots in the semifinals following Day 2 of competition, as Merino (1A), Platte Valley (3A), Valor Christian (5A) and Wiggins (2A) all advanced.
Saturday’s competition will begin with the two third-round consolation games at 8 and 9:30 a.m., with the winners advancing to the semifinals at noon and 2 p.m. The championship game for all five classifications is scheduled for 6 p.m.
No. 7 Fossil Ridge will join No. 1 Valor Christian in the semifinals of the 5A tournament, as Fossil Ridge got past No. 6 Pine Creek in five sets (23-25, 29-27, 25-27, 25-18, 15-7) today. Fossil Ridge will face the winner of the consolation match between No. 2 Chaparral vs. No. 5 Mountain Vista tomorrow, while Valor Christian will take the winner of No. 4 Legend vs. No. 6 Pine Creek contest.
Valor Christian advanced to the semifinals after sweeping Mountain Vista (25-20, 25-15, 27-25). Meanwhile, Legend eliminated No. 10 Castle View, 3-0 (25-21, 26-24, 25-16) and No. 11 Ralston Valley, 3-0 (25-19, 25-10, 26-24), and Chaparral knocked out No. 3 Rock Canyon, 3-0 (25-18, 25-17, 25-16) and No. 12 Cherry Creek, 3-2 (25-20, 20-25, 25-21, 20-25, 15-8.
Saturday Schedule
8 am – #4 Legend vs. #6 Pine Creek
9:30 am – #2 Chaparral vs. #5 Mountain Vista
Noon – #1 Valor Christian vs. #4 Legend/#6 Pine Creek
2 pm – #7 Fossil Ridge vs. #2 Chaparral/#5 Mountain Vista
6 pm – Championship Game
Lewis-Palmer, the No. 1 seed in the 4A tournament, will look to secure a spot in the semifinals through the consolation bracket, as it will open play at 8 a.m. tomorrow against No. 2 Windsor. The winner of that game will advance to the semifinals to face No. 3 Palmer Ridge.
Palmer Ridged secured a semifinal spot after sweeping Windsor (25-16, 25-14, 25-16), while Lewis-Palmer eliminated No. 5 Lutheran, 3-1 (26-24, 18-25, 25-13, 25-14) and No. 7 Eagle Valley, 3-0 (25-23, 25-11, 25-20) in the consolation bracket.
In the other semifinal, No. 4 Thompson Valley will await the winner of No. 9 Cheyenne Mountain vs. No. 10 The Classical Academy. Thompson Valley swept Cheyenne Mountain today (25-19, 29-27, 26-24), while The Classical Academy eliminated No. 8 Holy Family, 3-2 (24-26, 20-25, 25-22, 25-18, 19-17) before knocking off No. 12 Montrose, 3-0 (25-11, 25-18, 25-13).
Saturday Schedule
8 am – #1 Lewis-Palmer vs. #2 Windsor
9:30 am – #9 Cheyenne Mountain vs. #10 The Classical Academy
Noon – #4 Thompson Valley vs. #1 Lewis-Palmer/#2 Windsor
2 pm – #3 Palmer Ridge vs. #9 Cheyenne Mountain/#10 The Classical Academy
6 pm – Championship Game
Top-seeded Platte Valley and No. 3-seed Eaton continued to advance in the Winners bracket, and secured their place in tomorrow’s semifinals with wins today. Platte Valley swept No. 4 Delta (25-20, 25-16, 25-18), while Eaton knocked No. 7 Resurrection Christian into the consolation bracket with a 3-1 win (27-25, 15-25, 25-18, 25-20).
Resurrection Christian will open play tomorrow against No. 6 Liberty Common, with the winner advancing to the semifinals to face Platte Valley. Liberty Common advanced through the consolation bracket with wins over No. 8 Centauri, 3-2 (20-25, 30-28, 25-19, 21-25, 15-9) and No. 12 Valley, 3-1 (23-25, 25-20, 25-21, 25-19).
No. 3 Eaton will await the winner of No. 4 Delta vs. No. 11 University. University made it to the third round of the consolation bracket by upsetting No. 9 Lamar, XX, and No. 5 Timnath, 3-1 (25-27, 25-19, 25-14, 25-19).
Saturday Schedule
8 am – #6 Liberty Common vs. #7 Resurrection Christian
9:30 am – #4 Delta vs. #11 University
Noon – #1 Platte Valley vs. #6 Liberty Common/#7 Resurrection Christian
2 pm – #3 Eaton vs. #4 Delta/#11 University
6 pm – Championship Game
No. 1 Wiggins and No. 10 Limon clinched semifinal spots with wins over No. 5 Plateau Valley and No. 11 Burlington, respectively, today. Wiggins swept Plateau Valley (25-18, 25-13, 25-12), while Limon took four sets to defeat Burlington (17-25, 25-18, 25-12, 25-8).
Wiggins will now await the winner of the No. 6 Strasburg vs. No. 11 Burlington consolation game, while Limon will face the winner of the No. 3 Sedgwick County vs. No. 5 Plateau Valley consolation match-up. Sedgwick County advanced in the consolation bracket by knocking out No. 2 Rye, 3-0 (25-8, 25-16, 25-23), and No. 12 St. Mary’s, 3-1 (25-27, 25-12, 25-8, 25-14), while Strasburg eliminated No. 8 Ignacio, 3-0 (25-16, 25-19, 27-25), and No. 4 Mancos, 3-0 (25-20, 25-16, 25-17).
Saturday Schedule
8 am – #6 Strasburg vs. #11 Burlington
9:30 am – #3 Sedgwick County vs. #5 Plateau Valley
Noon – #1 Wiggins vs. #6 Strasburg/#11 Burlington
2 pm – #10 Limon vs. #3 Sedgwick County/#5 Plateau Valley
Upsets were hard to come by in the 1A bracket, as the top-four seeds met in the third round, with an automatic trip to the semifinals on the line. No. 1 Merino and No. 2 Stratton prevailed as Merino swept No. 4 Simla (25-13, 26-24, 25-8) and Stratton swept No. 3 McClave (25-14, 25-21, 25-20).
Merino will now await the winner of the McClave vs. No. 8 Dove Creek consolation match, and Stratton will take on the winner of Simla vs. No. 9 Haxtun. Dove Creek eliminated No. 5 Otis, 3-1 (21-25, 25-18, 25-20, 25-20), and No. 10 Cheraw, 3-0 (25-20, 25-222, 25-18) in today’s action, while Haxtun knocked out No. 11 Weldon Valley, 3-0 (25-20, 25-20, 25-21) and No. 7 Briggsdale, 3-2 (25-18, 16-25, 25-23, 24-26, 15-9).
Saturday Schedule
8 am – #3 McClave vs. #8 Dove Creek
9:30 am – #4 Simla vs. #9 Haxtun
Noon – #1 Merino vs. #3 McClave/#8 Dove Creek
2 pm – #2 Stratton vs. #4 Simla/#9 Haxtun
6 pm – Championship Game
