(John Preist/CHSAANow.com)
DENVER — For the last three years, Eaton has dominated the landscape of Class 3A volleyball.
But before the Reds, it was Valley who more often than not came away with a state title. The Vikings won two titles in three years under coach Rene Aafedt. This year, they’re looking to get their hands on one more championship trophy.
It’s Aafedt’s last shot at it.
The longtime coach at Valley is calling it quits after 20 years of coaching. When she entered the Denver Coliseum on Friday as her team began pool play, it was for the last time.
Her players are more than aware of the circumstances and want to do everything they can to make sure she goes out with her third title.
“Just yesterday we had our last home practice and we made a big deal about it,” senior Ashlyn Martinez said. “It’s pretty emotional, but being here and playing for her, we want to give her a championship for her last year.”
They got off to a good start. In the third match of the day for 3A, they swept Platte Valley 25-20, 25-18 and 25-15.
In they’re second match of the day, they beat Middle Park 23-25, 25-18, 25-14, 20-25 and 15-7, earning a spot in Saturday’s semifinals.
With each match, Aafedt’s career inches closer to its conclusion and she couldn’t help but think about all the good things that came in her time at Valley.
“You just want to savor every moment that you have left and make it the best that you possibly can,” she said.
Aafedt said she felt like she was ready to move on after last year. But she wanted to make sure that there was a good plan in place for when she was gone and she had a special class of seniors that she wanted hang with through their final season.
“These seniors are very very special,” Aafedt said. “I thought that could hang out with them until they were seniors. These last three kids still have part of that Legacy that Valley used to hang on to forever.”
Martinez, Brooke Schilling and Miller Kinsey complete the trio of seniors. They’ve been around their coach long enough to know that the end of her career is certainly on her mind as these final matches play out.
“Yeah, I think it is,” Martinez said. “She’s a great coach and such a great person and individual. She’s been helping us a lot.”
And she can’t help but think back to all moments she was a part of in the Coliseum. This is the 13th consecutive appearance for the Vikings in the state tournament and the one thing still jumps our to Aafedt is the feeling she gets right when she walks through the door with her team.
“(I’ll always remember) lining up to check in and hearing No. 1 through 17 or whatever it is (get called),” she said. “I’ll always remember my state championships that we had, playing tough matches, coaches, officials and the camaraderie and just tons of memories here.”
Things will start to sink in for her on Monday.
There will be no volleyball practice to attend. No players to instruct. No opponents to prepare for.
But there will always be the memories. The Coliseum, the championships and most importantly the girls.
And those memories will never fade away.
Notables:
- No. 10 Kiowa provided the shock of the day on the small school front, beating No. McClave 25-14, 14-25, 23-25, 25-14 and 18-16. The Indians will face Springfield on Saturday with a chance to move on to the 1A semifinals.
- University advanced to the 3A semifinals after winning both matches of the day. The Bulldogs topped Pagosa Springs and Bayfield, both in five sets, to earn a berth in the semis.
- Fleming advanced to the 1A semifinals thanks to sweeps over Otis and Weldon Valley.
- Dayspring Christian and Colorado Springs School both moved on to the 2A semifinals after going 2-0 during pool play on Thursday.