(Brian Livergood)
It’s an exciting time for boys volleyball in Colorado and it’s only going to get more interesting on Saturday.
At Rock Canyon on Friday, the inaugural boys volleyball state tournament began with quarterfinals. By the end of an exciting day of postseason boys volleyball play that was years in the making, eight teams had become four and the field of semifinals competitors was set.
In Saturday’s Final 4, No. 1 Douglas County will face No. 4 Eaglecrest and No. 2 Legend will face No. 4 Valor Christian. The winners will then square off for the first-ever boys volleyball state championship in CHSAA history.
(Brian Livergood)
“It’s an exciting time right now,” Eaglecrest head coach Chad Bond said. “The volleyball that’s happening in the state is fantastic. We had a high-quality volleyball match and to be a part of that was fantastic. For us to win in that style is pretty special. Having this as a sanctioned sport has brought kids out who never would have played before. Every time you have a bunch of firsts, there’s always going to be a ton of excitement and it’s going to be special.”
In order to reach the penultimate round, Bond’s Raptors emerged from the most exciting quarterfinal. The only match to go more than three sets, Eaglecrest (13-3) won 26-28, 25-16, 17-25, 25-23, 15-13 against a James Irwin (14-2) team that went undefeated in Pikes Peak League play during the regular season.
“It feels really good,” Eaglecrest junior Alfred Maiava said. “I’m really proud that we are now a part of CHSAA, it’s an awesome moment, one of the best we will have in our life. We are out here standing together as a team, we are all brothers at the end of the day no matter what happened.”
(Brian Livergood)
On Saturday, Eaglecrest will face unbeaten No. 1 Douglas County (16-0) at 9 a.m. The top-seeded Huskies beat No. 8 Regis Jesuit (9-7), 25-20, 25-15, 25-15 in the quarterfinals.
Over on the other side of the bracket, the Legend Titans (14-2) won 25-15, 25-18, 25-11 against Cherokee Trail (8-8) and the Valor Christian Eagles (14-2) won 25-21, 25-16, 25-20 against Cherry Creek (10-6). Legend and Valor Christian will place at 11 a.m. on Saturday.
The state championship game will begin at 2 p.m. on Saturday. Not too long after that, Colorado’s first boys volleyball champion will be crowned.
“With the boys’ association we ran the last 25 years, it was a good atmosphere, but this is a little bit different,” James Irwin coach Mike Prusinowski said. “It means a little bit more to the guys being in an official state championship, so that part of it I’m pretty proud of how it got going. I’m hoping we see some more schools next year, but I think for the first year, you see the quality of volleyball here today and tomorrow is pretty good for Colorado. ”
(Brian Livergood)