The Lions beat Grandview in the final, 25-16, 26-24. In fact, CSCS swept all five opponents that day, Dakota Ridge, Littleton and Cherokee Trail in pool play, Pine Creek in the cross-bracket and the Wolves in the final.
"We showed more heart in that first game, going way down (13-8) and then coming back," Lions coach Mike Broekhuis said. Broekhuis said he was looking to beat both Doherty and Grandview this year, because they were the only teams to defeat the Lions last season. He does have an ideal lineup to do that, as his daughter Morgan had 17 kills and outside hitter Brianne Vande Griend had 10.
Broekhuis, a 6-foot-5 senior who plays setter and outside hitter, actually didn’t have that many swings from the pins. Most of her kills came while attacking the ball as a setter, on the second touch.
"We call that sometimes, from the bench, even," coach Broekhuis said. "If we get a free ball, or a ball we can handle, we practice passing the ball tight."
Grandview middle blocker Erica Denney, a 6-4 senior headed to Penn State, had six kills and two blocks, as Grandview appears to have recovered from three defeats that started the season.
The Eaglecrest All-Tournament Team
Morgan Broekhuis, Colorado Springs Christian, 6-5, Sr.; Erica Denney, Grandview, 6-4, Sr.; Nikki Glass, Pine Creek, 5-11, Sr.; Morgan Gradishar, Grandview, 5-10, Jr.; Brianne Vande Griend, Colorado Springs Christian, 6-0, Sr.; Hannah Walker, Colorado Springs Christian, 5-4, Sr.
Karst as a fan
Players from other teams surrounded the CSCS court when the Lions were about to play. Eaglecrest setter Bailey Karst was one of those, and she obviously wanted to see Broekhuis.
"She’s amazing," Karst said of the CSCS star. "She’s a great athlete and definitely someone to look up to.
"She’s so intense, it seems like nothing ever bothers her."
Recruiting the Lions
Broekhuis decided long ago to play for the Nebraska Cornhuskers, while a slenderized Walker will be a defensive specialist at CU. She is a setter for CSCS. Outside hitter Heather Poll recently chose Bethany College in Kansas.
Vande Griend also has a major college scholarship awaiting her at Alabama. She might be only the second Colorado player to choose the Crimson Tide.
"All my teammates are giving me crap because Alabama is so hot and humid," Vande Greind said. "I like it hot. And the people there are so friendly."
Last big tournament
Probably the last Class 5A invitational of note is Saturday, with Cherry Creek’s Bruin Classic. It might be the best Class 5A tourney this month, with No. 1 Ponderosa and No. 4 Doherty participating.
The host Bruins and Lakewood are ORV teams, which means they weren’t ranked in the Top 5 of the Colorado High School Coaches Association/MaxPreps coaches poll, but appeared in the others receiving votes category. Fans should take time to watch some of the top liberos in the state, with Ponderosa’s Kendall Howard and Lakewood’s Taylor Jordan.
Alumni report
Regis University swept Metro State, the No. 16-ranked team in the country, on Tuesday, 25-20, 25-21, 25-22. Metro State has 10 players who were Colorado high school stars and the best against the Rangers were libero Amy Watanabe, from Heritage, with 16 digs, and outside hitter Bri Morley, from Cherokee Trail, who had 10 kills and two aces.
Regis has just four in-staters, but they all contributed to the win. Outside Sarah Keiter, from Faith Christian, topped all players with 11 kills, and outside Jessica Howe had 10. The match also had a Pueblo connection, with Howe, from Centennial, meeting up with former East rival and middle blocker Lisa Jones, who had two kills and three blocks.
Tournament outsiders clean house
Colorado Springs Christian was just the latest team from that city to do well on the road in an invitational. Pine Creek had only one loss at Eaglecrest, to CSCS, and finished third. Prior to that, Cheyenne Mountain won the Smoky Hill tournament against city rival Rampart, and Mesa Ridge won its own tourney.
Other than Mesa Ridge winning its own event and Mullen winning the Regis Jesuit Jam, the trend this season was for visitors to win tournaments. Roosevelt won the Broomfield tournament and Valley won the Lewis-Palmer event.
