The MaxPreps ranking published Oct. 27 will be the primary seeding consideration.
If there are three teams from the same league in the same pool, the committee shall look to make a switch. The committee should first look to switch teams seeded Nos. 9-12.
One team per pool advances to the semifinals. If matches remain on Saturday which have no effect on the semifinal participants, they shall be three-set matches, with each set played to 25.
Class 3A
Pool
Seed
School
W
L
I
1
Eaton
2
0
8
Sterling
1
1
12
Olathe
0
2
II
2
Valley
2
0
7
Platte Valley
1
1
11
Coal Ridge
0
2
III
3
Bayfield
1
1
6
Manitou Springs
2
0
10
Pagosa Springs
0
1
IV
4
University
1
1
5
Colorado Springs Christian
2
0
9
Faith Christian
0
2
[divider]
Schedule
Play begins at 8 a.m. each day. Matches begin 8 minutes following the completion of the match prior.
Friday
Match
Pool
Teams
Score
Match
1
IV
University
3
25-16, 25-10, 25-19
Faith Christian
0
2
I
Eaton
3
25-11, 25-10, 25-14
Olathe
0
3
II
Valley
3
25-14, 25-20, 25-23
Coal Ridge
0
4
III
Bayfield
3
25-19, 25-11, 25-8
Pagosa Springs
0
5
IV
University
0
25-23, 25-19, 28-26
Colorado Springs Christian
3
6
I
Eaton
3
25-17, 25-18, 25-9
Sterling
0
7
II
Valley
3
25-23, 25-16, 25-19
Platte Valley
0
8
III
Bayfield
3
25-16, 22-25, 25-14, 25-21
Manitou Springs
1
Saturday
Match
Pool
Teams
Score
Match
9
IV
Colorado Springs Christian
3
25-16, 25-8, 25-14
Faith Christian
0
10
I
Sterling
2
25-18, 25-23
Olathe
0
11
II
Platte Valley
2
25-23, 26-24
Coal Ridge
0
12
III
Manitou Springs
3
25-19, 25-6, 25-13
Pagosa Springs
0
[divider]
Championship bracket
Pool I winner faces Pool IV winner; Pool II winner faces Pool III winner.
Semifinals will start immediately following pool play on Saturday. All finals will begin at 7 p.m.
Highlands Ranch volleyball celebrates its regional championship in 5A. (Via @RBWHRHSAthletic on Twitter)
Highlands Ranch dropped its first match of the Class 5A volleyball regionals on Saturday. It was a grueling, five-set affair — but that it went five sets later turned out to be a major advantage.
The Falcons rallied from dropping that match to later win 5A’s Region 11 in a tiebreak over Rocky Mountain, 25-15. With the win, Highlands Ranch moves on to the 5A state tournament.
But things looked bleak for a while.
For starters, since volleyball’s regionals moved to three-team pools a few years ago, the overwhelming majority of those advancing no longer drop a match. It has turned the tie-break scenario, once a common occurrence, into a rarity.
Ralston Valley, the region’s host and No. 11 seed in 5A, had already beaten No. 27 Rocky Mountain in four sets to open regional play.
So when No. 14 Highlands Ranch lost to Rocky Mountain in the region’s second match (19-25, 25-21, 22-25, 25-20, 16-14), it had one last-gasp shot at qualification: knock Ralston Valley off.
The Falcons did that, by a 3-1 margin. All three teams in the regional, at that point, were 1-1 — dusting off the tiebreak scenario. In the event of a three-way tie, two teams faceoff in a one-set playoff, with the winner facing the third in a second one-set playoff match.
Highlands Ranch volleyball poses with the regional championship trophy. (Via @RBWHRHSAthletic on Twitter)
Highlands Ranch was set aside for the first tie break because it had won a higher percentage of total sets played (5 of 9) during the regional compared to Ralston Valley (4 of 8) and Rocky Mountain (4 of 9). Rocky Mountain beat Ralston Valley 25-15 in that first tie-break, then advanced to play Highlands Ranch.
Highlands Ranch then won the second playoff match, 25-15, to advance to the state tournament.
The 5A field will consist of: Eaglecrest, Grandview, Regis Jesuit, Rampart, Chaparral, Pine Creek, Cherokee Trail, Chatfield, Cherry Creek, Fairview, Highlands Ranch and Legend
Headed to 4A’s state tournament are: Lewis-Palmer, Ponderosa, Cheyenne Mountain, Montrose, Valor Christian, Mullen, Mead, Berthoud, Battle Mountain, Pueblo West, Niwot and Air Academy.
In 3A’s tournament: Eaton, Valley, Bayfield, University, Colorado Springs Christian, Manitou Springs, Platte Valley, Sterling, Faith Christian, Pagosa Springs, Coal Ridge and Olathe.
Comprising the 2A field: Swink, Resurrection Christian, Paonia, Simla, Sargent, Yuma, Dolores and Colorado Springs School, as well as four Wildcard teams to be selected on Monday.
And 1A’s field: Sangre de Cristo, Kit Carson, Otis, Weldon Valley, Norwood, Springfield, Idalia and Fleming — as well as four additional Wildcard teams.
[divider]
Notables:
A seeding committee will meet on Monday morning to finalize the pools for the state tournaments. The Wildcard selections in 1A and 2A will be selected based on the MaxPreps Freeman Rankings published on Monday. The next four highest-ranked teams who made it to regionals but didn’t advance will be the selections.
All five defending champions have made a return trip to the state tournament. They are: Grandview (5A), Lewis-Palmer (4A), Eaton (3A), Resurrection Christian (2A) and Fleming (1A).
Chatfield is the highest-remaining regional seed of any of the 5A, 4A and 3A regions. The Chargers were No. 17, and upset No. 8 Douglas County. (The 1A and 2A regions are not seeded across the classification, but instead set by district finish.)
Of those seeded regionals (5A-3A), the host teams went an astounding 70-2 in matches, including 212-36 in terms of sets won.
5A’s Region 10 wore out the courts in its first two matches. First, No. 10 Fairview rallied to beat No. 27 Rangeview in five sets — 26-28, 25-18, 17-25, 28-26, 15-13. Rangeview then turned around and went another five sets in losing to No. 15 Arapahoe, 25-22, 22-25, 23-25, 25-14, 15-9. The final match only went four sets, a 3-1 Fairview win over Arapahoe to claim the regional crown.
Kit Carson trailed its first match in 1A Region B 0-2, but rallied to take a five-set win (20-25, 12-25, 27-25, 25-15, 16-14) and later won the regional.
The Montrose volleyball team poses for a picture after winning a regional championship in Class 4A. (Tom Hoganson)
Eaglecrest is the No. 1 seed in 5A. (Tim Visser/TimVisserPhotography.com)
AURORA — Eaglecrest, Lewis-Palmer and Eaton nabbed the top seeds when volleyball’s regional tournament brackets were released on Monday morning.
Eaglecrest is the top seed in the Class 5A field and is set to host No. 24 ThunderRidge and No. 36 Liberty in its regional.
Grandview, Regis Jesuit, Rampart, Chaparral, Pine Creek, Cherokee Trail, Douglas County, Cherry Creek, Fairview, Ralston Valley and Legend will also host regionals. See the full 5A bracket here.
The top 12 teams (and regional hosts) were all seeded strictly based upon the MaxPreps computer rankings at the regular season’s end. All league champions earned automatic bids to regionals, and the remaining teams were selected based on the same MaxPreps rankings.
Lewis-Palmer volleyball is 4A’s No. 1 seed. (Matt Daniels)
Lewis-Palmer heads the 4A field, and will host No. 24 The Classical Academy and No. 36 Weld Central. Ponderosa, Cheyenne Mountain, Montrose, Valor Christian, Mullen, Mead, Berthoud, Pueblo West, Niwot and Air Academy are also regional hosts.
The 3A regional tournament field is led by No. 1 Eaton, which will host No. 24 Middle Park and No. 36 Denver Science & Tech – Green Valley Ranch. This is the first postseason appearance for a GVR team in the school’s short history.
Other 3A regional hosts are Valley, Bayfield, University, Colorado Springs Christian, Manitou Springs, Platte Valley, Sterling, Faith Christian, Pagosa Springs, Coal Ridge and Olathe.
The 1A and 2A regional brackets were also released after those two classifications completed district play this past weekend. Those fields were not seeded by a committee, but instead the districts determined regional placement.
Elsewhere in 5A, Rampart continued to lead the way, and Grandview moved up three places from No. 5 to No. 2 after a week which included a win over then-No. 2 Eaglecrest.
Voted upon by coaches and media members around the state. New voters can sign up by emailing rcasey@chsaa.org. These rankings have no bearing on postseason seeding.
Regis Jesuit volleyball returned to the 5A poll this week. (Ray Chen/ArrayPhoto.com)
Regis Jesuit has returned to this week’s CHSAANow.com Class 5A volleyball rankings.
The Raiders went 3-0 last week and are now 11-6 this season. They returned to the poll at No. 10. Regis Jesuit was last ranked on Sept. 1.
Elsewhere in 5A, Grandview moved from No. 8 to No. 5.
Each of the five No. 1 teams stayed the same this week. Those are Rampart (5A), Lewis-Palmer (4A), Eaton (3A), Resurrection Christian (2A) and Fleming (1A).
The 4A poll added Air Academy (No. 10), 3A added Faith Christian (No. 10), Cedaredge (No. 10) joined 2A and Norwood (also No. 10) was new to 1A.
The rankings, voted upon by coaches and select media members, are the official polls of the Association. Polls are released each Monday.
Voted upon by coaches and media members around the state. New voters can sign up by emailing rcasey@chsaa.org. These rankings have no bearing on postseason seeding.
Eaglecrest is No. 2 in this week’s 5A volleyball rankings. (Jack Eberhard/JacksActionShots.com)
There was some upheaval in the Class 5A volleyball rankings this week as both Eaglecrest and Cherokee Trail moved into the top five.
The Raptors (10-2) jumped from No. 5 to No. 2 in CHSAANow.com’s poll, while Cherokee Trail went from No. 6 to No. 3.
Rampart received 11 first-place votes and remained atop the 5A poll. The ranking added Denver East at No. 10 this week.
Each of the other No. 1 teams remained the same this week, as well, including Lewis-Palmer (4A), Eaton (3A), Resurrection Christian (2A) and Fleming (1A).
The rankings, voted upon by coaches and select media members, are the official polls of the Association. Polls are released each Monday.
Voted upon by coaches and media members around the state. New voters can sign up by emailing rcasey@chsaa.org. These rankings have no bearing on postseason seeding.
Grandview is No. 2 in this week’s 5A volleyball rankings. (Kevin Keyser/KeyserImages.com)
Grandview, a winner last week over then-No. 2 Eaglecrest, has made a big jump in CHSAANow.com’s Class 5A volleyball poll this week.
The Wolves moved from No. 5 to No. 2 following the sweep of Eaglecrest, and another of Arapahoe.
Meanwhile, Castle View joined the 5A ranking at No. 10 following a win over No. 3 Chaparral. Chaparral remained at No. 3, just behind consistent No. 1 Rampart and Grandview.
Rampart remained at No. 1 despite its loss to 4A No. 1 Lewis-Palmer, which owns the claim to the best team in the state at the moment.
Each of the three other No. 1 teams also stayed put. Those are Eaton, Resurrection Christian and Fleming.
The rankings, voted upon by coaches and select media members, are the official polls of the Association. Polls are released each Monday.
Voted upon by coaches and media members around the state. New voters can sign up by emailing rcasey@chsaa.org. These rankings have no bearing on postseason seeding.
The Huskies, off to a 8-0 start, are ranked No. 8 in CHSAANow.com’s poll.
The other big mover in 5A was Chaparral, which went from No. 5 to No. 2.
Olathe joined the 3A poll at No. 10, while 2A added Rye (also No. 10) this week. The 1A poll has two newcomers: No. 9 Springfield and No. 10 McClave.
All five No. 1 teams stayed the same this week: Rampart (5A), Lewis-Palmer (4A), Eaton (3A), Resurrection Christian (2A) and Fleming (1A).
The biggest battle for the top spot came in 3A, where four different teams received first place votes, including Eaton, Valley, Manitou Springs and Platte Valley. Those teams are Nos. 1-4 in this week’s poll.
The rankings, voted upon by coaches and select media members, are the official polls of the Association. Polls are released each Monday.
Voted upon by coaches and media members around the state. New voters can sign up by emailing rcasey@chsaa.org. These rankings have no bearing on postseason seeding.
It had been more than two seasons since Central (Grand Junction) had won a football game. Friday night, the Warriors ended a 21-game losing streak with a 41-32 win at Vista PEAK in Class 3A.
The Warriors led 20-8 in the second quarter, but it quickly turned into a back-and-forth game. Vista PEAK took a 32-27 lead in the third quarter, but Tonka Littlefawn scored on a 36-yard run to give Central the lead for good at 34-32 with 9:54 to play in the game.
Central then sealed it five minutes later when Littlefaw added a 15-yard score to make it 41-32 following a bad snap on a punt.
Littlefawn finished with three scores. Justin Eller and Kian McAdam also had touchdowns.
The Warriors’ last win came 46-26 at Hinkley on Nov. 3, 2011. It was on the same field — at Aurora Public Schools Stadium.
Regis Jesuit, for the second week in a row, found itself locked in a battle late in the fourth quarter. This time, the result went the Raiders’ way.
A week after losing 27-14 to No. 2 Cherry Creek, Regis Jesuit had to put away rival Mullen, a team that refused to go away. The game featured seven ties or lead changes.
Mullen led 21-20 at halftime and 34-27 late in the third quarter, but Regis Jesuit tied it at 34 with less than a minute to play in the third.
Alex Barnes then scored on a 14-yard run to give Regis the lead at 41-34 with 10 minutes remaining in the game, and the Raiders added another score six minutes later.
But Mullen wasn’t done. Jovan Tafoya hit Ryan Manning on a 40-yard pass for a touchdown with two minutes to play, and the Mustangs drove down for one final chance in the final minute but couldn’t convert on fourth-and-12 from inside the 20.
[divider]
3A: (9) Roosevelt 20, Loveland 15
Loveland seemed to have pulled the upset — but Roosevelt scored the winning touchdown with 14 seconds left.
Loveland led 15-14 at the half, and it stayed that way for nearly the entire second half. But Roosevelt got the ball with 3:18 to play, and slowly marched its way down the field. Then, with 19 seconds left and facing third down and goal at the 1, the Roughriders’ Christian Majzack scored the winning touchdown.
Adrian Pastrana then had a game-sealing interception on Loveland’s ensuing drive.
This one came down to a goal-line stand at the end. Florence held firm, and held on to win.
Faith Christian had four shots at the end zone from inside the 10, but Florence didn’t bend. The last stop came with one second remaining.
“We took a timeout just to regroup them,” Florence coach Jeremy Nix told ColoradoPreps.com‘s Scoreboard Show. “The boys … just bowed their necks and got after it. We rode the ‘D’ that far, so we were at the point where we could’ve called a timeout to try to save some time, but we had confidence in them and they showed up at the end there.”
Discovery Canyon rallied from a 20-17 deficit at halftime to pull off the upset on the road.
“Tonight was a little bit of a heart-attack game,” Discovery Canyon coach Shawn Mitchell told the Scoreboard Show afterward.
The Thunder actually led 14-0 early before surrendering the lead in the second quarter. But they then reeled off 28-straight points in the third quarter to seize control of the game.
“It was a little bit of a roller-coaster ride for the coaches, to say the least,” Mitchell said.
The third quarter scoring spree was sparked by Blake Lawrie’s touchdown return on the opening kick of the second half.
“Boy, that really helped us,” Mitchell said. “That kind of got spirits back up again, because I think at the end of the second half, they were wondering, ‘Oh, what just happened?’ I think it was, ‘OK, we’re back where we need to be.’”
It was the second-consecutive big win for Discovery Canyon, which beat Silver Creek in Week 1.
[divider]
8-man: (9) Springfield 36, (4) Hoehne 6
Springfield pulled off the upset at home.
“Both of us grounded and pounded against each other, just kept hitting and hitting and we knew one of us was going to wear out,” coach J.J. Quick told the Scoreboard Show after the game. “We knew our game was to do what they normally do: just keep pounding and banging up front.”
[divider]
Notables
Cedaredge upset 2A No. 10 Olathe on Friday night. The final was 2-0, and no it wasn’t a forfeit. Weather played a role, with the lone points coming on a safety from a snap through the endzone.
Rifle, No. 5 in Class 3A, beat Jefferson 64-6. The Bears have outscored their first three opponents by a combined 182-19.
Lakewood, a 5A team, knocked of 4A No. 2 Montrose 47-35 on the road. Montrose kept trying to creep back into the game, but Lakewood seemingly scored a touchdown to answer each score. We’ve got photos of the game here.
Fountain-Fort Carson beat Legacy in overtime, 20-14.
Durango trailed 14-0 but then scored 34 unanswered points en route to beating Aztec (N.M.) 34-28 on the road.
Montrose and Grand Junction exchanged leads five times before the half on Friday night. The Tigers trailed 22-20 at the break, but would go up 50-22 with 10:42 to play. They’d have to hold on, though, in winning 58-45. At one point, Fruita cut it to 50-45 with 2:25 to play.
Aspen running back Ryan Fitzgerald had 343 yards and two touchdowns on 33 carries in his team’s 23-14 win over Steamboat Springs.
In 8-man, No. 6 Merino beat No. 5 Simla 18-16.
Alameda edged Skyview in overtime, 56-55. Nick Wotton had five touchdowns and 297 yards in the losing effort.
2A No. 8 Lamar beat 1A No. 2 Centauri, 20-8.
Valley’s Victor Delgado rushed for three touchdowns as his team beat Fort Lupton 31-0.
Rocky Mountain Lutheran’s Zach Schlittenhart had 231 yards and four touchdowns rushing on just 11 carries as his team beat Justice 64-28.
Lutheran beat Frederick 52-7. Quarterback James Willis threw for 346 yards and three touchdowns. Eight of his passes went to Joshua Clausen, who had 157 yards and two touchdowns. Through two games, Clausen has 376 receiving yards. It’s very early, but he’s on pace to break the single-season receiving yardage record, set just last season by Fairview’s Sam Martin (1,860).
