(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

MANITOU SPRINGS – The Manitou Springs volleyball team has suffered some tough early season losses. In tournament play this year, the Mustangs dropped a match to Resurrection Christian and to archrival St. Mary’s. They later traveled to Platte Valley where they lost a heartbreaker to the Broncos, a match in which they led two sets to none.

That’s why Tuesday’s 3-2 (25-21, 25-19, 14-25, 22-25) win over No. 3 Colorado Springs Christian was so important. The fifth-ranked Mustangs led after two sets and the Lions were able to come back and push it to five before the Mustangs got the win in a key Class 3A match.

“The thought crossed my mind, thinking, ‘Here we go again,'” Manitou coach Jane Squires said. “I didn’t say anything to them, but I wanted to tell them that we couldn’t let that happen again.”

The Mustangs (8-3 overall, 4-0 3A Tri-Peaks League) had some early trouble getting their offensive weapons involved. Outside hitter Katie McKiel was able to slam home a couple of kills, but the Lions (9-1) did a great job of digging and blocking some of her attempts.

Brooke Garretson stepped up big with McKiel drawing the attention of the CSCS (9-1, 5-1) defense and was able to score two key points for the Mustangs to get them a 25-21 victory in the first set.

“Last year, all we had was Katie, but now we have more options and we all know how to hit better,” Garretson said. “We can use each other more and (setter) Gala (Jensen) trusts us all more as hitters.”

Each team carried a surge of energy over from the first set and found themselves locked in a back and forth battle. Both McKiel and Lions hitter Abby Skrastins saw great defensive efforts from the other side of the net.

But with the set tied at 10-10 in the second set, McKiel and company took over. Highlighted by a couple of McKiel kills, the Mustangs jumped out to a 9-0 run to take a 19-10 lead.

The Lions tried to fight their back but McKiel slammed home two kills and it was Garretson who once against finished it off at 25-19.

(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

Now in desperation mode, the Lions were forced to up their game. Down 7-5, they outscored the Mustangs 10-3, forcing Squires to burn a timeout. She couldn’t settle down her players and led by Skrastins, the Lions were able to take the third set 25-14 to extend the match.

“I really felt like they started to click as a team toward the last few sets,” Lions coach Lori Currier said. “It was a good building block for us and it’s a good place for us to build from here.”

CSCS was able to keep their energy level up going into the fourth set to take a quick 7-4 lead. The Mustangs seemed out of sorts on offense and had been since early in the second set.

“We tried to run some different things and mix things up,” Squires said. “We need to do a little bit better on our decision making there.”

The Mustangs eventually pulled even and a kill from Garretson put the Mustangs in the lead 10-9.  The seesaw battle continued through the fourth set and the Lions came away with the 25-22 win to push the match to a fifth and final set.

The Mustangs started off hot, looking more like they had in the first two sets. They were successfully blocking the Lions attack and placing their shots in just the right place.  They seized momentum with a 4-0 run that included a McKiel kill and two points off blocks to take a 9-5 lead.

But like the Lions had for the entire match, they battled their way back to tie up before the Mustangs were able to get to match point at 14-10. CSCS took the next four points to extend the final set.

The Mustangs caught their biggest break of the night as a Skrastins kill attempt went into the net, giving Manitou a crucial league win and huge boost considering the struggles they have had closing matches out.

“We knew what it felt like,” Garretson said. “I think we wanted it more this game than we did against Platte Valley so we pushed a lot harder.”

(Andre Lyseight/CHSAANow.com)

HIGHLANDS RANCH — Mountain Vista volleyball displayed Tuesday night exactly why it is the second-ranked team in Class 5A.

The Golden Eagles (10-2) swept Regis Jesuit in a 3-0 win (25-19, 25-20, 25-21), giving the team its fifth-straight victory — and moving them to 5-0 in the always-tough Continental League.

“Game in and game out we play tough games,” Mountain Vista coach Doug Schafer said after the match. “We have the best league in the state. Each game is important. Regardless of the team’s record, it doesn’t matter because everybody is good.”

Mountain Vista started the first set of the match strong, jumping out to a 13-6 lead. Regis Jesuit was able to rally back within four. But, after timeout called by Mountain Vista, the Raiders were not able to finish the set out with the momentum they gained.

The second set of the match was the most impressive by Mountain Vista, led by senior middle blocker Keely Ruby. Ruby’s numerous kills gave her team a 16-8 lead.

Despite the dominant start by Mountain Vista, Regis Jesuit was not going out without a fight. The Raiders went on a 5-0 run, bringing the set to 23-20. Once again, though, the Golden Eagles called a timeout to gain their composure, and finished strong, winning set 25-20.

“I think we played really well. It was definitely not just one particular person who ran the court,” Ruby said. “We are all good so the setter can go to anyone and any front row person can go for a hit.

“I think our defense was on point, too. They always got a perfect set to the setter and we can trick out the other team and make a really great play from that.”

The Raiders were finally able to get their first lead in the third set.

Regis Jesuit outside hitters Taylor Smith and Mary Raitt had a huge impact in propelling their team to a 12-7 lead. But the lead wasn’t big enough to stop Mountain Vista from rallying back, with a 3-0 run forcing a timeout from Regis Jesuit.

At this point it became a pattern for the Golden Eagles to come out of timeouts with momentum and that’s exactly what happened again. Mountain Vista extended its run to 7-0, taking the lead at 14-13. The Golden Eagles finished the set off aggressively winning 25-21.

“One thing I think we do really well is even when we’re down we can find a way to pick it back up whether its someone serving a couple points or really great defense,” Ruby said. “We always find a way to pick it up and push through and win.”

Regis Jesuit (6-7) is now facing a five-match losing streak.

“I think we need to improve on our hitting, that will be our next step that we work on,” Raiders coach Laura Dunston said. “Our next goal is trying to get a win.”

(Aislyn Carrillo/CHSAANow.com)

FORT COLLINS — One weather delay, two goals and three yellow cards later, No. 5 Fort Collins boys soccer shutout Mountain Range in a very physical match on Tuesday evening.

The match ran for about nine minutes before the lightning delay was called. During this short period of time, Fort Collins (7-1 overall, 3-1 league) maintained possession throughout and senior Connor Lowdermilk managed to score a goal with 35 minutes left to play in the first half. The crowd celebrated the first score of the game and kept cheering on the Lambkins until 31:17 remained in the first half, when lightning struck nearby.

Fort Collins headed to its locker room and Mountain Range (5-3, 3-1) headed to its bus, where coach Eric Sarno had a pep talk with them.

“After the delay, they really got into the match and made a great game of it,” Fort Collins coach Justin Stephens said of Mountain Range.

Both teams came back from their break aggressively — much different from the first part of the half where Fort Collins dominated the ball. This time, the ball was going back and forth, being played on both sides of the field.

The Lambkins’ defense played incredibly well, especially goalkeeper Alex Snavely, who did not let a shot past him the entire match.

With 13:26 remaining in the first half, senior forward Blake Moncur scored the Lambkins’ second goal, and the final goal of the game. Fouls grew heavy toward the end of the first half and the play started to get physical.

Aggressive became almost too aggressive by means of physicality during the second half. Three yellow cards were given out — two to Fort Collins and one to Mountain Range. Mountain Range’s Matthew McGuire earned his yellow card after an intense play, resulting a Lambkin down on the field and the crowd going crazy.

Fort Collins seniors Max Bostak and Max Arellano received yellow cards, as well.

The Lambkins and the Mustangs both came very close to scoring goals in the second half, but the Lambkins ran into communication errors and kept overshooting the ball; and the Mustangs just were not able to execute any of their shots because Fort Collins’ defense was so strong.

The coaches from both teams have a clear mutual respect for one another, even after such a tough match.

“That was a good team, they played very well,” Sarno said. “We couldn’t find that goal, and we never gave up.”

Stephens is proud of his team but he has recognized what they did wrong in this game and what they can improve on.

“We were goalless in the second half, so it would be nice get that third and put the game away,” Stephens said.

Fort Collins went into this match coming off its only loss of the season this far against Monarch. Mountain Range will be playing Monarch on Wednesday night on Monarch’s home turf.

The Mustangs will not have a practice between the two matches. Sarno hopes his team will improve their “communication at the back and knowing when to get forward” so that they can play at their fullest on Wednesday.

BOULDER — Top-ranked Boulder boys soccer got an early scare from No. 9 Rocky Mountain but was able to come back for the 2-1 victory Tuesday night.

Ethan Fletcher gave Rocky Mountain the early lead in the 17th minute of the top-ten Front Range League battle, but Boulder came roaring back. Sam Kirk knotted the game at one in the 52nd minute, and Brian Castruita netted the game-winner on a free kick in the 61st minute.

Boulder stays undefeated, now 8-0 (4-0 Front Range League) this season. Rocky falls to 5-2-1 (1-2-1).

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MONTROSE — Montrose boys soccer beat rival Grand Junction 3-1 on Tuesday.

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Event type: Triangular
Host: Ponderosa

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Event type: Invite
Host: Lakewood High School

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MONTROSE — Caitlyn Charlesworth had four RBIs as Palisade softball beat Montrose 11-5 on Tuesday.

Paige Orman pitched all seven innings to get the win, allowing just three earned runs.

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(Kevin Keyser/KeyserImages.com)

The NFHS Network has announced its fall broadcast schedule for 2015.

Any event not list on the NFHS Network schedule below will be considered a “declined event” and other video and linear broadcast entities may seek permission with the CHSAA Office to air these events. All inquiries must be made through Bert Borgmann at the CHSAA Office.

The NFHS Fall Broadcast Schedule includes:

• November 13-14 – State Volleyball Pool Play Matches (Denver Coliseum/Times TBD)
• November 14 – State Volleyball Championship Matches (Denver Coliseum/Times TBD)
• November 13 – 5A Football Quarterfinals (Sites/Times TBD)%
• November 14 – 5A Football Quarterfinals (Sites/Times TBD)%
• November 14 – 3A, 4A, 5A State Boys’ Soccer Championship (Times TBD)
• November 21 – A6 State Championship (Site/Time TBD)
• November 27 – 4A/5A Football Semifinal (Sites/Times TBD)%
• November 28 – 4A/5A Football Semifinal (Sites/Times TBD)%
• November 28 – A8 State Championship (Site/Time TBD)
• November 28 – 1A State Championship (Site/Time TBD)
• November 28 – 2A State Championship (Site/Time TBD)
• December 5 – 3A State Championship (Site/Time TBD)
• December 5 – 4A State Championship (Sports Authority Field – Denver, 11:00 a.m.) ALTITUDE
• December 5 – 5A State Championship (Sports Authority Field – Denver, 2:30 p.m.) ALTITUDE
• December 11 – State Spirit Prelims (Denver Coliseum/Times TBD)
• December 12 – State Spirit Championships (Denver Coliseum/Times TBD)

% – NFHS Network or School Broadcast Program Broadcast

Viewers may access the NFHS Network Broadcasts by visiting NFHSNetwork.com.

(Jack Eberhard/JacksActionShots.com)

AURORA — A group of basketball minds from Class 2A met at the CHSAA office on Tuesday, and ultimately recommended a change to the way the classification handles its district tournaments.

The group, and ad-hoc committee made up of at least one representative from each of the eight 2A districts, wants the district brackets to rely heavily on the use of the Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) formula, which will be implemented in a widespread fashion across all teams sports beginning with the 2016-17 season.

The full recommendation for district play in 2A boys and girls basketball is as follows, according to Bert Borgmann, CHSAA’s assistant commissioner in charge of basketball:

• The structure would remain relatively the same — that is, eight districts narrowing to a 32-team regional bracket.
• Districts would crossover and play one another for two seasons during a two-year cycle. Currently, the format rotates on a seasonal basis.
• The district host would rotate season-to-season, allowing each district to host the tournament once during the two-year cycle.
• The basketball committee would set the district crossover pairings, and use geography as a factor. (Schools will continue to determine their placement in an individual district.)
• Four teams would qualify out of each district tournament: The champion, the runner-up, and the next two highest-ranked teams based upon their standing in the RPI formula.
• The basketball committee would set the seeding criteria for the 32-team regional bracket. Eight teams would continue to advance to the state tournament.
• The basketball committee would also set the seeding criteria for the state tournament qualifiers once they are determined.
• These changes would begin in 2016-17.

“The goal was to try and get some consistency with what the classification wanted to do and what they could recommend to the basketball committee,” Borgmann said.

The proposed changes would need to be approved by the basketball committee, which next meets on Feb. 4, 2016. They would then need to be approved by the Legislative Council next April.

During Tuesday’s meeting, each district had one voting member.

In attendance were: Cole Larson, Sanford, District 1; Kevin Jones, Center, District 1; Bryan Dermer, Merino, District 2; Rocky Cundiff, Ignacio, District 3; Jimmie Langford, Dolores, District 3; Greg Swiatkowski, Burlington, District 4; Dirk Pederson, Limon, District 4; Tim Esgar, Paonia, District 5; Carl Lindauer, Las Animas, District 6; Tammy Ridennoure, Rocky Ford, District 6; Kathleen Leiding, Lyons, District 7; Harley Lowe, Dayspring Christian, District 7; and Don Steiner, Evangelical Christian, District 8.