(Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)
DENVER — Kristin Kurz struggled to put the right words together.
Her eyes watered up, she paused to take a deep breath before trying again.
“It’s just so special,” she said as the tears returned.
Saturday was a night Dayspring Christian Academy won’t forget after the volleyball coach and her team left the Denver Coliseum with the school’s first-ever girls state championship title since opening in 1975 with a 3-1 (25-22, 21-25, 25-22, 25-15) victory over defending champion Yuma.
To add to the occasion, Kurz got to share the experience with her daughters Katie, her junior outside hitter, and Emily, who serves as an assistant coach.
“That was something that we’ll all remember for a really, really long time,” said Kurz. “All the girls have been working so hard all year and to see it end like this is something more than we could ask for.”
It was a fitting end to the race for the Class 2A title. Dayspring Christian had been dominant, capping an undefeated 2016 season (29-0) against the team that had the best shot to spoil the Eagles’ storybook ending. The Indians were holding a 22-5 record that included a perfect 8-0 run through District 2 League play and survived one of the tougher pools (Pool IV) among the 2A state field.
(Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)
“We had been here before just last year, but we knew that we would be getting our toughest match of the year against Dayspring,” Yuma coach Jenny Noble said. “We played with everything we had and you have to credit them for having one amazing season.”
Neither team showed any signs of letting up, especially early on as they exchanged point runs that took each of the first three sets down to the wire.
Dayspring Christian grabbed an early edge and a 25-22 opening-set victory that was led by a strong attack from Katie Kurz, who finished with a match-high 28 kills and junior Megan Roberts, who was close behind with 24.
Defensively, the Eagles were powered by senior Kelsi Donoho’s 56 assists and 19 digs, while Roberts and senior MaKayla Bell recorded 11 and 10 blocks, respectively.
Yuma was swift to respond in the following set with a 25-21 victory of its own to equalize the match heading into the break. The Indians showed offensive power in sophomore Chasey Blach, who finished with a team-high 17 kills and 22 digs, and sophomore Cody Robinson’s 15 kills. Junior Kenedy Roth led Yuma in assists with 32.
In the pivotal third set, Dayspring Christian found itself trailing by as many as six points as it wore late. Kurz took a timeout to regroup her team, which returned to claim seven of the final nine points to swing the momentum back in their favor.
“I just convinced them to calm down and play the way we knew we could play,” Kurz said. “Sometimes being in this environment can get the best of you.
With its first state title within reach, the Eagles fired on all cylinders in the fourth set, going on a seven-point run to bring home the championship with their fans getting louder with every point.
“I couldn’t have asked for a better way to end our careers here,” said Bella Bryant, one of five seniors on Dayspring Christian’s roster. “This is what we’ve always dreamed about and it’s unbelievable that it’s finally come true.”