Elizabeth is in the 4A volleyball semifinals. (Pam Wagner)
DENVER — They weren’t supposed to be in the semis. Not as a No. 9 seeds.
Yet, Class 4A’s Elizabeth and 2A’s Yuma — ninth-seeded, both — were the first two teams to punch their tickets to Saturday’s semifinals during the first day of the state volleyball tournaments at the Denver Coliseum on Friday.
“Today, we’re just here,” Elizabeth coach Russ Haman said. “Nobody expects much out of us.”
Haman’s Cardinals topped No. 4 Montrose to start the day, 3-1 (25-22, 23-25, 25-22, 25-10), then ruined No. 5 Thomas Jefferson’s coming-to-state party with another 3-1 win (25-22, 18-25, 25-23, 25-21).
“We felt we could compete with everybody,” Haman said. “We didn’t set expectations. We were just like, ‘We’re going to do the best we can and play together as a team.’ That’s what we’ve had to work on all year, is playing as a team. That’s what they’ve chosen to do.”
In preparation for big-time moments and teams his squad faced Friday, Haman scheduled matches and scrimmages with some of the elite programs in the state — including Lewis-Palmer, Cherry Creek, Cherokee Trail and Lakewood.
“You get with those big-hitting teams and we learned how to try to work a defense around that,” Haman said. “Ideally, we want to play the hard, hard teams and get better and better.”
Elizabeth could match up with Lewis-Palmer, 4A’s top seed, in the semifinals. It would be a fun personal matchup — Rangers coach Susan Odenbaugh “got me into coaching,” Haman said.
Yuma advanced to the 2A semifinals. (Pam Wagner)
Yuma also took No. 4 and 5 seeds en route to the semis. The Indians beat No. 5 Sangre de Cristo 3-1 (25-12, 25-8, 24-26, 25-13) and No. 4 Paonia 3-0 (25-18, 25-8, 25-19).
“You know, we were a little disappointed in our seed, but I think it kind of lit a fire under the girls and they wanted to prove it a little bit more,” Yuma coach Megan Martinez said. “They came out ready to play.”
This week, Martinez scheduled early practices to help her girls acclimate to playing so early in the day.
“That got them ready to go,” Martinez said.
Elsewhere, 5A’s top seed Grandview swept Castle View in its only match of the day. The Wolves will face No. 8 Rampart for a semifinal berth on Saturday morning.
Cherry Creek. (Pam Wagner)
No. 4 Mountain Vista and No. 5 Cherry Creek both beat No. 9 Fruita Monument, meaning their Saturday morning matchup will also determine a semifinal spot.
No. 2 Arapahoe and No. 7 Doherty will play for the semis on Saturday following their wins over No. 11 Cherokee Trail. Doherty rallied from a 2-0 hole to beat CT 3-2.
The final semifinal spot in 5A comes down to No. 3 Fossil Ridge and No. 6 Eaglecrest, who both topped No. 10 Pine Creek on Friday.
In 4A, No. 1 Lewis-Palmer beat No. 12 Coronado 3-1, and No. 8 Roosevelt swept Coronado. Those teams meet Saturday morning to determine the semifinalist from Pool I.
No. 2 Longmont and No. 7 Ponderosa will play for a semifinal berth out of Pool II. Both teams beat No. 11 Pueblo West.
Pool III has a Colorado Springs flavor, with No. 3 Cheyenne Mountain and No. 6 Air Academy battling for the semis after both beating No. 10 Valor Christian.
In 3A, No. 1 Eaton and No. 8 Bayfield both beat No. 12 Lamar, so they’ll play for a semifinal spot on Saturday. Out of Pool IV, No. 4 Platte Valley and No. 5 Holy Family both topped Coal Ridge and meet for a semifinal berth on Saturday.
Valley, seeded second, and No. 7 University will play for the semis on Saturday. Both teams beat No. 11 Machebeuf.
No. 3 Manitou Springs and No. 6 Gunnison are set to play for the final 3A semifinal spot after taking down No. 10 Sterling.
Dove Creek playing Kit Carson. (Pam Wagner)
In 2A, No. 12 Meeker upset No. 8 Ridgway in Pool I. Couple with No. 1 Resurrection Christian’s later win over Meeker, it could make Saturday morning’s match between Ridgway and Resurrection Christian interesting. Should Resurrection Christian win, it’ll get the semifinal spot. But if Ridgway wins, the semifinalist will be determined on a tiebreaker.
No. 2 Lutheran and No. 7 Lyons will battle for the semis after both beat No. 11 C.S. School.
Pool III sets up like Pool I with No. 10 Akron beating No. 6 Swink on Friday. It means No. 3 Fowler can win the pool with a win over Swink, but a Swink win in that game sets up the tiebreaker scenario.
In 1A, No. 1 Dove Creek and No. 8 Vail Christian will play for a semifinal spot following wins over No. 12 Kit Carson. Out of Pool IV, No. 4 Fleming and No. 5 Eads will meet for that semifinal spot after both teams beat No. 9 Stratton.
No. 3 Otis and No. 6 Flager are set to play for the semis on Saturday. Both teams beat No. 10 Rocky Mountain Lutheran.
Pool II has a potential tiebreaker scenario. No. 11 Idalia beat No. 7 Hi-Plains but lost to No. 2 Caliche on Friday. That means if Caliche beats Hi-Plains on Saturday, it gets the semifinal berth. If Hi-Plains wins, the teams will go to the tiebreak.