Champions to be crowned at Colorado state volleyball tournament

All five of last year's state champions have qualified for their respective brackets and are looking to repeat the success they found a year ago. But this is a different season. The road to even the semifinals won't be easy for Valor Christian (Highlands Ranch) (Class 5A), Lewis-Palmer (Monument) (4A) or Yuma (2A). There might be reason to think Lutheran (Parker) (3A) and Kit Carson (1A) are heavy favorites in their respective classes, but teams like Sterling or Merino would like to think otherwise.

The atmosphere at volleyball is always one of the bestof the school, with all classes competing in the same building. When things tip off Thursday morning, there will be no shortage of action across each court.

Below is a quick look at each classification and which teams might be ready to emerge with championship gold Saturday night.

Class 5A // Bracket
The 5A bracket is shaping up to be one of the more entertaining tournaments of the week. A case can be made that any of the top eight teams have a realistic chance to claim a state championship. At various times this season, the coaches saw either Chaparral (Parker), Cherokee Trail (Aurora) or Rampart (Colorado Springs) as the top overall team in the state.

But defending champion Valor Christian can't be counted out and neither can Legend (Parker). Throughout various tournaments and regular season matches, it feels as if the entire 5A field has beaten up on each other, setting up an unpredictable three days the Denver Coliseum.

Top-seeded Chaparral might have the deepest group of hitters in the field, but the Wolverines have shown they are far from invincible. They dropped their season-opening match against Cherokee Trail match and later lost to Legend, but Julianna Dalton (256 kills), Emma Ammerman (239) and Katie Dalton (225) have been tough for opponents to deal with the majority of the season.

Cherokee Trail has leaned more on its star junior hitter, Amaya Messier on its path to state. The Cougars have been solid defending the net, however, as Isabella Sommers has accounted for nearly half of the team's 164 blocks on the season.

Rampart presents an interesting dynamic to the bracket. The southern-most team to qualify, the Rams boast a solid junior hitting combination of Riley Simpson and Anjelina Starck. They'll also get a defensive boost from Grace Wilkinson, who recorded her 1,000th career dig at regionals.

Throughout the course of the season, Chaparral lost to Legend, who got beat by Rampart, who lost to Grandview (Aurora) and so on. There is no clear favorite heading into the start of play Thursday, which makes the tournament that much more fun.

Class 4A // Bracket
If there is a year someone will be able to knock Lewis-Palmer off the top of the mountain, this could be it. But that doesn't mean it's going to be easy. Coach Wade Baxter has stated several times that a path to a state championship is more difficult this year than perhaps it has ever been for the Rangers.

Pueblo County enters the tournament as the top seed and is riding a 26-match winning streak. After falling to No. 5 Coronado in the season-opener, the Hornets have looked very much unstoppable behind Sammy Meehan, Kinley Gomez and Rylan Scott.

Montrose is also looking strong coming off a 20-5 season. The Indians haven't racked up as many kills as other teams, but their ability to score off the serve makes them a dangerous squad. Ashyln Manuel and Kelsey Rocco have combined for 85 aces, and they each hover around 90 percent when it comes to serving the ball.

But if history has taught the 4A field anything, it's that Lewis-Palmer can never be counted out. The Rangers lead a crop of four Pikes Peak Athletic Conference teams in the state tournament and still managed to go undefeated in league play. Danielle Norman and Gianna Bartalo are two holdovers from last year's championship team that provide crucial experience when it comes to playing in the Denver Coliseum.

Class 3A // Bracket
When looking for a favorite in any bracket, it's not hard to argue that undefeated defending champion Lutheran has the best shot of working its way to a second-straight state title this week.

The Lions haven't lost a match since Eaton beat them in the very first match of the state tournament a year ago. But they powered through to claim the 3A title and haven't looked back since. Senior Payton Brgoch leads the team with 253 kills, but Kennedey Johnson, Audrey Brgoch and Siri Bates have all recorded triple digits in that stat. Lutheran has looked unstoppable this year.

But that won't stop others from trying. Sterling has put together its own undefeated season and aims to win its first state title since 2005. Sydney Henry and Kaylee Johnson have combined for 550 kills and have all but assured that the Tigers will be a 3A powerhouse not just this year, but for the next several seasons as well.

After going into last year's bracket with high expectations, Alamosa is looking to complete some unfinished business in 2019. The Mean Moose return some big hitters from a team that was just a match away from reaching the semifinals. Terese Chavez leads the team with 192 kills, with Emily Depriest sitting right behind her at 186. But the key to the team's offense is Jordan Mobbley and her ability to get the ball to any of the four hitters with at least 100 kills. She's been solid with 653 assists on the year.

Eaton comes into the tournament as the No. 10 seed and is hoping to win its sixth title in seven years.

Class 2A // Bracket
After falling short of last year's title hunt, Denver Christian is in a prime position to claim the 2A title this season. At 25-0, the Thunder enters the tournament as the clear No. 1 seed, while defending champion Yuma is No. 11, making the road much more difficult than a year ago.

The Thunder is led by Jacki Bogner, who has recorded 319 kills on the season. But it's not just the offense that has made Denver Christian a favorite. Kara Amidon leads the team with 267 digs, but there are four other players who have totaled at least 100. The offense can't get set up if opponents aren't connecting on their kill opportunities, and Denver Christian has been one of the best in the state at limiting damage from opposing hitters.

Trista Marx and Sidney Hines have Limon in a position to make a run at a title. The No. 2 Badgers open the tournament with a bye and will face the winner of Del Norte and West Grand (Kremmling) Thursday night.

Meeker and Union Colony Prep (Greeley) also received first-round byes.

Class 1A // Bracket
The 1A bracket is shaping up in a similar way to the 4A bracket. If there is a year for a team to knock off two-time defending champion Kit Carson, this could be it. But that doesn't mean it's an easy task.

Two teams in the bracket have recorded wins over the Wildcats this season and will try to use that confidence and momentum to do it again. La Veta got a win in a five-set match on Sept. 6 and Genoa-Hugo/Karval beat Kit Carson in five sets on Oct. 24.

But thanks to the leadership in the form of Reyna Isenbart, Kit Carson scored tough victories over Limon (the No. 2 seed in 2A) and defending 2A champion Yuma. If Genoa-Hugo/Karval and Kit Carson win their first matches, they're set for a rematch in the second round Friday.

Merino enters the tournament as the top overall seed and might boast the best hitting combination in the entire bracket. Brooke Mertens is one of the classification's best hitters with 335 kills and teammate Taysa Conger (317) is right there with her.

The Rams opened their season with a loss to Briggsdale but won 25 of their final 26 matches to earn the top overall seed. Their only other loss was to Fleming, which comes in as the No. 4 seed, meaning those two could play each other again Friday.