Idalia’s Reagan Shaffer, the reigning player of the year in 1A volleyball. (Tim Visser/MaxPreps)
Reagan Shaffer’s junior year at Idalia High School was the stuff of which dreams are made.
Shaffer and the Wolves made school history on multiple occasions a year ago, starting when the volleyball team advanced to the Class 1A state championship game for the first time. Some five months later it was the girls basketball team’s turn, and this time Idalia emerged with the school’s first title on the girls’ side.
Shaffer finished the year with first-team all-state accolades in both sports and was the 1A Player of the Year in volleyball. But she and her Idalia teammates haven’t forgotten about the one that got away.
The Wolves missed out on a state title last November in a four-game loss to Fleming, and it has the squad hungry for a second chance.
“Having never been in that situation, any of us, that was a learning experience for us too,” Wolves coach Kylie Chamberlain said. “Hopefully we find ourselves back in that situation and maybe we do something different.”
Idalia finished the 2014 season with a 26-2 record, with both losses coming at the hands of Fleming. In the state tournament the Wolves were battling fatigue after a five-set marathon in a semifinal victory over Otis. After taking the first set against the Wildcats, Shaffer said the team simply ran out of energy.
The setting at the Denver Coliseum was also a bit overwhelming, with five championship matches taking place at one time.
“There was definitely an adrenaline rush. It’s not what we were used to; it was a lot to take in because you could barely hear your own teammates,” Shaffer said. “We were pretty dead at the end of the day, so we’ve worked on a lot of conditioning and drills to keep us in shape.”
Idalia comes into 2015 as the top-ranked 1A squad in the CHSAANow.com preseason poll after graduating only two seniors off last year’s team. The Wolves return all-state talent in Shaffer (344 kills, 38 aces as a junior) and Jennay Terrel (154 kills, 48 total blocks). Junior Faith Carpenter joins Terrel in the middle, with junior Alex Weyerman back at setter, senior Bryce Schafer on the outside and Susana Herrera on the right side.
Shaffer ripped 24 kills in the semis a year ago and had a team-high 11 in the title match.
Shaffer. (Tim Visser/MaxPreps)
“She’s definitely a leader for us on the court. She doesn’t get rattled, doesn’t lose her head,” Chamberlain said. “You get in a crunch situation and you can look at her on the court and she’s looking at the rest of the team saying, ‘It’s OK, we’ve got this.’
“She’s a competitor.”
Now it’s all about the road back to the Coliseum for Idalia and its 1A competition. While Fleming graduated five all-state players, the Wildcats are always a tough out. Otis returns a trio of all-state players, and Chamberlain also pointed to Flagler and Kit Carson as teams that could make a run.
After making the state tournament a year ago for the only the third time in Chamberlain’s tenure, the tide has started to turn in Idalia for volleyball as a winning tradition begins to take shape.
Shaffer said that should the team get back to Denver, the nerves shouldn’t be a factor this time around. The state basketball tournament is the perfect example — having been in a high-pressure situation earlier in the school year, the Wolves stared down adversity and came away with their first championship.
“Really I think a lot of it came from having the mindset from being at state volleyball,” Shaffer said. “State basketball was a little more mellow and not as crazy. I think we went in and weren’t really nervous — we had gotten rid of the jitters and just played.”
Volleyball preview
- Regular Season Start Date: Aug. 27
- Postseason Start Date: Oct. 31
- State Tournament: Nov. 13-14, Denver Coliseum (All Classes)
Class 5A
- Preseason No. 1: Cherokee Trail
- Defending Champion: Grandview
- Returning All-State Players: Audrey Cheng, Jr., Fairview (2nd team); Shannon Webb, Sr., Cherokee Trail (2nd).
Class 4A
- Preseason No. 1: Lewis-Palmer
- Defending Champion: Lewis-Palmer
- Returning All-State Players: Lydia Bartolo, Jr., Lewis-Palmer (2nd team); Mariah Evans, Sr., Lewis-Palmer (1st); Elisa Hill, Sr., Montrose (2nd); Braya Hunt, Sr., Valor Christian (2nd); Maddie Labor, Sr., Steamboat Springs (2nd); Kylee Shook, Sr., Mesa Ridge (2nd); Allison Smith, Sr., Ponderosa (1st); Camille Smith, Sr., Ponderosa (2nd).
Class 3A
- Preseason No. 1: Eaton
- Defending Champion: Eaton
- Returning All-State Players: Cassie Davis, Jr., Colorado Springs Christian (2nd team); Kaitlyn Detlefsen, Sr., Coal Ridge (2nd); Madison Fisher, Sr., University (2nd); Angala Jensen, Sr., Manitou Springs (2nd); Chelsey Lockey, Soph., Eaton (2nd); Katie McKiel, Sr., Manitou Springs (1st); Jamie Nielsen, Sr., Colorado Springs Christian (2nd); Caiden Rexius, Sr., Eaton (1st); Bailey Schumacher,Sr., Eaton (2nd); Tarynn Sieg, Jr., Eaton (1st).
Class 2A
- Preseason No. 1: Resurrection Christian
- Defending Champion: Resurrection Christian
- Returning All-State Players: Taylor Carsten, Sr., Paonia (2nd team); Jaedyn Lambrecht, Sr., Caliche (2nd); Mallory Noble, Sr., Yuma (1st); Peighton Roth, Sr., Yuma (2nd); Kaitlyn Rutherford, Sr., Ridgway (2nd); Sarah Schaller, Sr., Sargent (2nd); Laney Swan, Sr., Colorado Springs School (2nd); Tara Traphagan, Sr., Yuma (1st).
Class 1A
- Preseason No. 1: Idalia
- Defending Champion: Fleming
- Returning All-State Players: Jade Hasz, Sr., Flagler (2nd team); Micayla Isenbart, Soph., Kit Carson (2nd); Emily Kaiser, Jr., Prairie (2nd); Kylee Kuntz, Sr., Otis (1st); Lissette Lefforge, Jr., Otis (2nd); Alyssa Lovato, Sr., Cheraw (2nd); Elisa Rodwell, Sr., Flagler (2nd); Antonya Schaffert, Jr., Otis (1st); Reagan Shaffer, Sr., Idalia (1st, POTY); Jennay Terrell, Sr., Idalia (1st).