DENVER — The Eaton Reds came in with an agenda, and it didn’t take them long to deliver.
The top-seeded Reds (28-0 overall) capped an impressive weekend of volleyball with a three-set sweep of the sixth-seeded Valley Vikings (20-9) to three-peat as state champions in Class 3A.
“I’m so proud of this squad,” said coach Gwen Forster. “Every year is different and honestly I’m not sure that this team got as much due as they should have in Colorado, being ranked nationally and all. But to see them finish the way they did really makes it all worth it.”
How dominant was Forster’s squad? They only lost four sets all season long, and the team’s current winning streak stands at 38 matches following the championship.
The match against the Vikings began with high energy on both sides, but early miscues by both teams kept it close during the early going. Eventually Eaton would turn on the pressure, and senior Lindy Dixon would finish the set off with an ace as the Reds took the first frame comfortably, 25-15.
(Kai Casey/CHSAANow.com)
The second set began with more of the same, as the Reds gradually built a lead. Then, with standout junior Tarryn Sieg on the bench, Valley went on a short run, tying the set at 17 and prompting a timeout from Forster.
“Tarryn really got us back on track there,” Forster said. “She came in and we got, what, five points in a row? The whole squad though, there was never any doubt for them.”
Sieg’s presence indeed lifted the Reds in that second set, with several finishes and two blocks in the final nine points played.
After such a hard battle in the second set, the third was almost a formality, as Eaton rolled to a 25-10 victory.
“It’s so special for me (to get this championship) as a senior,” said Caiden Rexius after the game. “There’s never been a three-peat in our history, so making history as a team with these girls has just been so, so special.”
For Valley, their second straight appearance in the 3A title game was bittersweet, but they have a lot to be proud of after a season of adversity.
“We lost six seniors last season,” said Vikings coach Rene Aafedt, “ and a lot of people, even in our own school, thought that this team wasn’t going anywhere.
We came in as the sixth seed and we knew how good Eaton is and we’re so familiar with them, I just told my girls to go out and play their game. We’re disappointed, but I so proud of everything these girls accomplished.”
Both squads graduate only three seniors this season, so they’ll be poised for another run in 2016. Forster insists though, that the focus should be on the individual players that make up each of her vaunted teams.
“I know people like to talk about the titles and the streak,” she said, “but it’s really all about the girls. It’s a smaller school and to keep having such great talent is really a testament to how hard they all work.”