DENVER — University wasn’t entirely the same Bulldogs team Eaton saw about six weeks ago.
University was razor sharp, uber confident and full of momentum.
Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, though, Eaton was exactly the same Reds team University saw about six weeks ago.
Eaton was razor sharp, uber confident and full of momentum.
Even though the Bulldogs are the defending Class 3A girls volleyball state champion, the unflappable Reds showed why they have been the unquestioned premiere team in the classification over the past decade-plus.
Second-seeded Eaton calmly brushed off sixth-seeded University’s early-set explosions, defeating the Bulldogs in four sets — 25-22, 17-25, 25-21, 25-18 — during the winners bracket quarterfinals on Friday at the Denver Coliseum.
“Our whole mindset coming into the state tournament is we’re rowing the same boat and we all have to be rowing in the same direction,” said Reds standout senior setter Rylee Martin, who had 40 assists to go with two aces and six blocks. “There’s going to be bumpy waters along the way. … We have a target on our back, because we’re the ‘town up north.’ That’s what they call us.”
No 3A program has more experience navigating the treacherous waters of the state tournament than Eaton does.
The Reds improved to 23-4 and guaranteed themselves a spot in a semifinals match at 2 p.m. Saturday against whichever team emerges Saturday morning between No. 3 Platte Valley (23-5) and No. 5 Alamosa (19-8).
Eaton is in hot pursuit of its 11th state title, which would be its eighth championship in the past 12 seasons.
On the other side of the bracket, red-hot, ninth-seeded Resurrection Christian (20-8) will play in the other semifinal, at noon Saturday, against University (22-6) or top-seeded Lamar (27-1).
Resurrection Christian may be the most surprising team so far in the 12-team, double-elimination 3A tournament — sweeping No. 8 Valley in the first round before upsetting top-seeded Lamar 3-1 in the second round Thursday, then sweeping Alamosa on Friday.
Before running into Eaton, University may have been every bit as headline-grabbing as Resurrection Christian: making quick work of No. 11 Liberty Common and third-seeded Platte Valley via a pair of sweeps Thursday.
Knowing the Bulldogs were riding sky high coming into Friday afternoon’s quarterfinals match, Reds senior middle hitter Ainslie Ross said she and her teammates were careful to not merely assume things would go exactly the same way it did the last time Eaton and University met.
On Sept. 29 in Eaton, the Reds dominated University 3-0 — 25-21, 25-12, 25-17.
That may have been a low point in the season for a Bulldogs team replacing many of their key players from their title team a year ago.
But since then, University has found its stride, winning 13 consecutive matches until it ran into the Reds again Friday.
Meanwhile, Eaton has been its same, steady championship-contending self all season.
And when things got tense Friday, the Reds responded just the way one would expect of such a battle-tested program.
In the three sets Eaton won, it trailed 17-14, 21-17 and 16-15 before calmly yet decisively snatching the late-set momentum from the Bulldogs’ grasp.
“UH always does a great job of showing up at state,” said Ross, who had team-highs of 11 kills and seven blocks. “We knew, defensively, they definitely weren’t the same team we saw earlier this season. So, we knew we had to take care of 900 square feet on our side and really just focus on our game. And, we had to bring the defense right back to them.”