AURORA – On paper, Thursday’s opening round of Colorado’s second-ever boys volleyball state tournament was Discovery Canyon’s state championship debut.
Technically, that is true. But for many of the Discovery Canyon players, over half of whom played at last year’s inaugural state tournament with James Irwin before Discovery Canyon opened a program in District 20, Friday’s big stage at Overland wasn’t anything new.
With that experience on its side, the Thunder (24-0) swept No. 5 Cherokee Trail (18-7), 25-9, 25-20, 25-13, and advanced to the semifinals where it will face No. 1 Cherry Creek on Friday.
“Half or three quarters of our guys already had state experience and already played together and that’s huge when you get to this stage to have that experience under your belt,” Thunder head coach Wayne Wetherby said. “That makes all the difference in the world.”
After Thursday’s playoff win, the Thunder (24-0) is unbeaten and has still not lost a single set on the season. Discovery Canyon’s first-round match was one of only two of six total Day 1 matches that didn’t go five sets.
Setting up Friday’s second-round matchup with Discovery Canyon, top-seeded Cherry Creek (23-2) won a thrilling five-set match, 23-25, 25-20, 19-25, 25-20, 15-10, over No. 8 Regis Jesuit (16-9) in the first round.
On the other side of the bracket, No. 2 Bear Creek (23-2) won its state tournament debut, 17-25, 25-21, 25-22, 20-25, 15-8, over league rival and defending state champion No. 7 Douglas County (17-8).
“It was very intense because that’s the fourth time we played Douglas County this season,” Bear Creek head coach Dave Youngblood said. “We knew how they were going to be. They’re tough, they’re resilient and they never give up. They never make it easy. I just kept telling my guys we had to be prepared to fight as long as it takes and keep the pressure on.”
No. 6 Legend (20-4) also won a five-set match, 27-25, 21-25, 21-25, 25-22, 16-14, against No. 3 Eaglecrest (20-5).
The second round of the championship bracket will begin at 5 p.m. on Friday.
In the first consolation round on Thursday night, Regis Jesuit rebounded to win a five-setter, 25-21, 21-25, 19-25, 25-23, 15-12 over Cherokee Trail to stay alive and reach Day 2. Eaglecrest defeated Douglas County in four sets, 23-25, 25-16, 25-20, 25-20, eliminating the defending state champion from the tournament and reach the next round of consolation matches.
Friday’s next round of consolation matches will begin at 7 p.m.