(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)
COLORADO SPRINGS — If Saturday was any indication, Class 5A volleyball in Colorado is going to be competitive and fun down the stretch.
Chaparral traveled to Rampart and beat the Rams 29-27, 20-25, 27-25 and 25-22 in a match that had all the drama and momentum swings that one would normally see in early November at the Denver Coliseum.
“I think all the 5A teams are great,” Chaparral coach Amanda West said. “We expect to compete every time we step in the gym and it makes us better at the end of the season.”
Rampart (9-6 overall) were not going to the let the CHSAANow.com No. 10-ranked Wolverines (10-5) just come into its gym and just control the game from the get-go.
The Rams were able to go point-for-point with Chaparral, even working their way to set-point at 24-23.
But the Wolverines battled back and were able to take the first set 29-27.
The Rams gained an early edge in set two, getting key kills from Kira Warren on along the way. Chaparral managed to claw its way back from a 18-13 deficit to pull to within a point. But a key kill from Alicia Hill shifted the momentum and the Rams were able to hang on.
And it seemed like they were going to hang on to that momentum. Rampart jumped out to a 7-2 lead in the third before the Wolverines were able to fight their way back.
The Rams were often able to gain a two or three-point edge only to surrender the momentum right back to the Wolverines, something that Rampart coach Nikki Kinzer knows can’t happen when the postseason rolls around.
“We nee to hold on to it,” she said. “We talk about discipline, discipline, discipline and they’re getting it. It’s been a slow process.”
Rampart was unable to hang on to a lead and despite once again having set point at 24-23, dropped the third set putting Chaparral only one set away from a win.
“Both teams were playing really well,” Chaparral setter Jasmine Schmidt said. “Everyone had big swings and big blocks so our team really focused on coming together after every play and shutting down their runs.”
Schmidt totaled 24 assists on the day and helped on the scoring front with 16 kills. Makenna Davis led the Wolverines with 21 kills on the day.
For Chaparral junior hitter Noelle Knutsen, it was a bittersweet day as she returned to Rampart after spending her freshman year at Rampart.
Back on familiar territory, she was happy to see a lot of her old teammates, even if it meant handing them a loss.
“I loved coming back here,” Knutsen said. “It brought back all my memories. These girls are my family and it was good to play to against them.”
Probably in more ways that one.
If there is one thing both teams can take away from Saturday’s match, it’s the intense back-and-forth battle that they’ll face come regionals and state, if they advance that far.
West knows that coming away with the win gives her team confidence that they can grind out the tough wins when they need to.
Kinzer knows that even without a win, playing a ranked team close all day will pay dividends in the long run.
Both coaches saw their team battle in a state tournament level game and knows that the players will be more ready when state comes around for real.