(Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)
DENVER — There would be no calming the Rowdy Rangers. As Lewis-Palmer players hugged and wiped joyful tears from their eyes, the sound of their classmates’ cheers reverberated through the confines of the Denver Coliseum.
Chanting “uno mas” on the last serve wasn’t just representative of the number of points needed, but also that one more championship was coming home.
With a 25-10, 25-20 and 25-21 win over Holy Family Saturday night, the Rangers were once again Class 4A volleyball champions.
Been there and done that, sure. But make no mistake, this state championship is special.
“What’s really special about this one is that we went undefeated,” coach Susan Odenbaugh said. “We’ve only dropped four sets all year. These kids knew they could play well. They knew that to be successful there couldn’t be any drama and we had to be unified.”
The Rangers (29-0 overall) had decided early in the season that this year was going to be fun. It had to be after last year’s group fell in the state title match to league rival Cheyenne Mountain. There was less of a family feel than there had been. Odenbaugh knew it, but it was the players who decided on their own to change the mentality from what it was a year ago.
“Every single one of us loves each other,” senior Elizabeth Reich said. “This team especially came out as one big team and everyone contributed.”
For Reich and the other seniors on the team, their last journey into the Denver Coliseum turned out to be the most memorable one.
Not the 3-1 win over Ponderosa in 2014 when they were sophomores. And not the sweep over Air Academy, a league rival, as freshmen.
It was their redemption title, their last title, that they’ll carry with them the most.
“It’s sad walking in for the last time,” Lydia Bartalo said. “But it was also exciting knowing that we were going to work our hardest and leave it all out on the court.”
That’s all anyone could ask of any team at the Coliseum. Holy Family perhaps represented that approach more than anyone.
The Rangers came into the tournament, the season even, as heavy favorites to come away with the 4A title. En route to the state title match, the Tigers (24-5) won a pool that included No. 2 Eagle Valley and then took down Valor Christian in the semifinals.
They never once looked devastated at the result of the state title championship match. They took their best shot at the Rangers which is all anyone could’ve asked.
And for those in attendance at the Denver Coliseum on Saturday night, one look at the joy and elation from the Rangers showed that while a state title for the program is not an uncommon occurrence lately, the experience of winning this way with this team is something they are unlikely to experience again.
“I told them at the end, this is one of the best LP teams ever,” Odenbaugh said. “I really believe that. It’s just fun to see young adults work really hard, set a goal and achieve it.”
And achieve it they did. With Bartalo and Michaela Putnicki leading the way with 15 kills each and Reich being big up front with four blocks, the Rangers are once again champions.
Last year, they fell short. This year they redeemed themselves. They got uno mas.