DENVER — Regis Jesuit is headed to the state field hockey championship game for the first time in school history.
The Raiders, seeded No. 3, upset No. 2 Kent Denver 1-0 during the semifinals on Tuesday at All-City Stadium.
It was a lone goal from Lauren Pendergast that was the difference. The Regis Jesuit junior scored with 18:15 remaining in the game to put her team up, and the defense didn’t allow any major chances from the Sun Devils.
One major difference in the game: Regis Jesuit had nine short corner attempts. Kent Denver didn’t get their first one until 6:42 remained in regulation — and the Raiders defended that one well.
It was Regis Jesuit’s first win over Kent Denver since 2015. The Raiders went 0-2-3 against the Sun Devils since a quarterfinal win over them during that season. That includes a 1-1 tie between the two teams to open this season in late August.
Now, Regis Jesuit (14-2-1) will advance to Thursday’s championship game against Cherry Creek. The Bruins beat Colorado Academy in Tuesday’s other semifinal.
Cherry Creek and Regis Jesuit played on Sept. 13, a 3-1 Bruins win.
LITTLETON — Evergreen volleyball is on the same path it was three years ago that yielded a trip to the Denver Coliseum.
In 2015 the Cougars won the Class 4A Jeffco League title with a 9-0 conference mark that included a road victory against Valor Christian to complete the sweep through league. Evergreen went on an impressive postseason run that finally ended in the 4A state semifinals.
“My goal since freshman year has been to make it to state,” said Evergreen senior Katie Hays, who was on junior varsity when the Cougars last made state. “With eight seniors I feel this is our best chance to go really far this season.”
Evergreen junior Gillian Hoerman hits a serve during the Cougars’ 3-0 victory over Littleton on Tuesday night. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
Tuesday night at Littleton High School the Cougars (17-3, 11-0 in league) official wrapped up the conference title again, cruising to a 25-10, 25-15, 25-16 victory over the Lions.
“I honestly didn’t think about this win being the one to win league,” Evergreen senior Claudia Dillon said. “It was cool to walk away knowing we’ve got it.”
Evergreen, ranked No. 7 in the final CHSAANow.com Class 4A volleyball poll, has won 12 straight under first-round coach Gail Andrews.
The Cougars have a chance to go undefeated again this year in conference play. Evergreen faces D’Evelyn in a league finale for both 4A Jeffco teams at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 25, at Evergreen High School. The Jaguars, second in the league, pushed the Cougars to a five-set match first go-around Sept. 25.
“D’Evelyn is a good team and is going to bring it,” Andrews said. “They took us to five last time. It’s fun to play against them for sure.”
Evergreen closes out the regular season hosting The Classical Academy and 4A’s No. 9 Holy Family in a round-robin tournament Saturday, Oct. 27.
The Colorado High School Activities Association will release state-qualifying regional tournament brackets Monday, Oct. 29. The Cougars are nearly a lock to host one of the dozen 4A regional tournaments Saturday, Nov. 3.
Evergreen senior Claudia Dillon (15) is just able to tip the ball out of the reach of Littleton’s Allison Groustra (5) and Adrianna Avalos-Moore (7) on Tuesday night. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
“We are really gearing up toward that,” Andrews said of regionals. “We are trying to work out the kinks in our own system and getting everything together.”
The Cougars had everything going against the Lions (6-12, 4-7). The Dillon sisters — Claudia and Hayley — set the tone early up front, along with some first-set kills from junior Gillian Hoerman. It was Claudia who put the exclamation mark on the first set.
The University of Missouri-commit served out the opening set with 11 straight points off her serve. The Cougars went from up 14-10 in the first set to Claudia using pin-point placement on 11 straight serves to win 25-10.
“That usually isn’t something I’m really known for,” said Claudia, one of the strongest outside hitters in the state. “It’s something I’ve definitely been developing over the years. I was just working on zones and placing it.”
Andrews got all her players involved as the Cougars dominated the final two sets to close out the match.
“It feels incredible,” Hays said. “It’s a really good way to leave our mark on the season to actually win league.”
The goal for Evergreen now is to close out the regular season strong to enter the postseason with plenty of confidence. Extending the season into a return trip to the Denver Coliseum for the state tournament is the clear mission ahead.
“We are really going to make the most of the time together as long as we’ve got it,” Andrews said.
Evergreen junior Gabby Clark (7) puts down a spike during the Cougars’ Class 4A Jeffco League victory Tuesday against Littleton. The win wrapped up the conference title for the Cougars, who host D’Evelyn at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 25, at Evergreen High School. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
(Photo courtesy of Bob Richardson/Fruita Monument volleyball)
Montrose volleyball coach Shane Forrest took last year off. It wasn’t for self-reflection; it wasn’t because she was tired of the game.
She had to be with her family. Specifically her brother, Rick Edmondson.
Rick was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s about two years ago and Forrest knew that her focus needed to be on her family. She didn’t want it divided so she stepped away for the 2017 season.
She returned this season and brought a new focus with her. October is typically a month aimed breast cancer awareness with teams often hosting a Pink Night to raise awareness and a lot of times funds to contribute to breast cancer research.
Forrest decided that her team was going to focus on the life-changing event that hit close to her home.
“This last year the job was still open at Montrose so I decided to go back after a year of coaching which was necessary and really good to have that time with my brother,” Forrest said. “But when I came back I decided to change our awareness from breast cancer as many of the programs do across the state to Alzheimer’s just to take the opportunity to get that out there.”
Rather than going with a Pink Night, Montrose opted to host a Purple Night for Alzheimer’s awareness. Due to the disclosed battles that Denver Broncos owner Pat Bowlen and his wife Annabelle, Forrest reached out to the team who sent purple rally towels for the event.
But Forrest was unprepared for perhaps a more significant gesture. When the Indians’ opponent, Fruita Monument, rolled into the gym, the team was donned in purple, too.
Fruita coach Bob Richardson and Forrest have known each other for 15 years and have developed a friendship off the court. It was the least he could do for a friend.
“That meant a lot,” Forrest said. “Bob and I have a good friendship and a good rivalry on the court. When Fruita walked into the gym, that was very touching to me and brought tears to my eyes that they rallied behind the cause as well. That was awesome. It was a really nice gesture to help us recognize and bring awareness to it.”
For Richardson, it was an obvious move to make. When Forrest took her leave for the 2017, he was hoping she would be able to return. When she did and decided that an Alzheimer’s awareness night was in order, he didn’t think twice about he and his team showing up to put on a unified front.
“I thought it was important,” Richardson said. “We’ve been doing the pink nights for several years now. This was a little more personal obviously to Shane and to me because of her brother. Our program and her program are very similar. Similar in our coaching styles, we’re friends but we’re competitors. We want to support Shane, in particular, and Alzheimer’s and things that she was supporting. ”
The Wildcats won the match in five sets, but every player came off the court with something more important than a win or a loss. As both teams supported the Alzheimer’s awareness cause, they also learned that while in competition, separate teams can unite for more important life causes.
“I think it’s important to teach the kids a sense of community and supporting one another,” Richardson said. “Particularly people that are going through hard times. To be aware of situations around them, that they might be related to someone or knows someone who is going through difficulty in their family. I just think that’s an important thing that sports can do, build community not only within your team, but within your league and with other teams.”
Forrest echoed the feeling. While grateful to Richardson and his team for supporting a cause close to home for her, she was also keen to the lesson that was taught to her players and the members of the community.
“I think it helps the kids realize that there are things bigger than volleyball; things bigger than winning,” she said. “Life happens. To be able to sit back and acknowledge that and support other people through their struggles is much bigger than a game.”
But at times, it can be that game that is the best rallying point to help through those struggles.
