Chaparral started the season as the No. 1-ranked team and was then eventually usurped by Ponderosa. The Mustangs then dominated by winning their first 18 matches of the year before losing to Chaparral. So, only then did Highlands Ranch get to the top.
But the Falcons came through at the District 1 tournament last week, despite the loss of their best player. Highlands Ranch had it easy in pool play, but middle blocker Erica Winkler went down in warmups just before its first match, against Westminster.
Hannah Margheim was the standout in the championship win against Lakewood, but she caused just as many problems for the training staff as for the Tigers. Margheim plays volleyball in a kamikaze style, twice colliding with teammates in the match.
"Hannah is just amazing," Falcons coach Lou Krauss said. "She’s our best ball-control person, our best defensive person, one of our better hitters, and she’s doing it all on a knee-and-a-half, and a bad ankle. She hasn’t been healthy all season. She has no regard for her body whatsoever. She has a very high pain tolerance."
For districts, Krauss replaced Winkler by shifting setter/right side hitter Megan Buckingham to middle. That involved two replacements at Buckingham’s previous positions.
"We really didn’t have another option, so we had to shift a lot of things around," setter Kayla McFadden said. "Our team clicks so well, it doesn’t really matter where anyone is. We were a little freaked at first, but we’ll pull through. We’re okay."
Highlands Ranch got its first tough matchup of the tournament in Saturday’s crossover, and beat Fairview in straight sets, 25-20, 25-12, 25-16. Wong had 15 kills and Buckingham six, but the true star was McFadden, who served up eight aces.
"(Krauss) was mainly having me focus on the outsides and getting them out of system, so they couldn’t run their middle, which is their biggest strength," McFadden said.
In the district final, the Falcons beat Lakewood 25-18, 25-14, 19-25, 22-25, 16-14.
"What it came down to, is just scrapping," Krauss said. "Both teams in that last game were playing at a pretty high level."
Lakewood, coached by Liz Armbrustmacher, was assured of a regional berth before the championship match, but didn’t pack it in after getting wiped out in the first two sets. Senior outside hitter Luiza Griz led the comeback with 11 kills in the last three sets. She had 15 total, plus four aces.
"I didn’t tell the girls this, but we had nothing to lose," Griz said. "So, it was kind of, ‘Go out there and do your best and let’s have fun.’ Being a smaller hitter (about 5-7), you’re kind of scared of the block. But (Saturday) especially I just needed to be confident and go for it – use the block, not be scared of it."
Rachel Gillcrist was a roadblock against the Falcons’ offense, piling up 10 blocks in the match. Highlands Ranch again had Wong topping the charts with 19 kills, and she blocked well, but Margheim was the more efficient hitter with 13 kills.
"There’s been quite a few (injuries), but I’ve made it through all of them," Margheim said. "It always helps us get better, so I’m going to keep going all out as long as I can."
Lakewood libero Taylor Jordan also sports a mass of bruises around her knees. She played with her usual skill by passing well and digging up a lot of hard hits, but that didn’t seem to deter the Falcons early. Pride made the difference later on.
"In the huddle (we said), ‘OK, we have to show who the real Lakewood is. We have to come back and play our game because we weren’t playing how we could have,’" Jordan said.
Both teams qualified for state last season.
Winkler update
Winkler was using crutches at districts, and is making some progress on her sprained right ankle, but not enough to suit her.
"I hurt it two minutes before our first match," Winkler said. "Since then she’s seen a doctor and has received a treatment similar to electrical stimulation.
"I still could get cleared to play," she said Thursday morning. "I’ve been going to physical therapy once or twice a day. If I can’t get it stronger by (Friday), then I won’t be able to play."
Grandview still a threat
During the past several years, Grandview has the most appearances competing in the Class 5A championship match. The Wolves might have hit a high point last week in a 25-17, 25-14, 25-12 rout of Eaglecrest for the District 4 title.
Most volleyball fans around here could guess that middles Erica Denney and Jill Anderson had a good match. And yes, Denney had 13 kills and two blocks while Anderson had nine kills, three blocks and an ace. But the most heartening aspect of the win was how well-rounded the offense was. Outside hitters Hannah Starbuck (nine kills, no hitting errors) and Alex Reid (five), plus right side Morgan Gradishar (eight) were spectacularly successful.
"For me, I’m really excited to be with this group of girls," Starbuck said. "They’re really good with each other – good chemistry and overall just good teammates. Not everybody gets an opportunity like this one and I’m sincerely grateful."
Morgan Broekhuis, Colorado Springs Christian
File photo by Ray Chen
The undefeateds
No Class 5A team made it to this point of the season without a loss. However, each of the other classifications has a clear favorite, or two contenders, undefeated. All of those teams also could eventually face the number of other strong teams in other regionals.
Class 4A has defending state champion Cheyenne Mountain, which is 23-0. That includes a championship at the Smoky Hill tournament, which was populated with very good 5A teams.
Still, there’s also Mullen (20-3) which has lost only to 5A teams so far, and Roosevelt (22-1) with only a lone defeat at Sterling in its second match this season.
In Class 3A, Colorado Springs Christian is 22-0, a record burnished by an Eaglecrest tournament championship victory.
But the well-known Lions have their record equaled by Valley, which won the Lewis-Palmer tournament.
Bayfield (21-0) also is undefeated and there are a bunch of other good teams, including Eaton (19-3), and Faith Christian (21-1).
In Class 2A, defending champion Fowler (23-0) hasn’t let up, and the Grizzlies have a very interesting regional tournament because Kiowa has the same record and Hoehne (20-2) and Simla (19-4) have strong state tournament histories.
In 2A, regionals are pre-determined, according to district results, so that’s how two undefeated teams can be in the same tournament.
Class A also has an undefeated team in Otis (22-0), which was the state runner-up last season. That champion, Fleming in Region D at Horizon High School, has only three losses this season, the same as Hi-Plains (20-3), in Region C at Limon.
