Volume set to turn up on an already intense Colorado high school volleyball season

The early stages of the 2019 volleyball season are underway and as teams begin to mesh and find their grooves, upcoming matches are going to get competitive.

Programs that have been down in years past are on the verge reaching the top ranks again, and those same programs will be tested by some of the traditional powerhouses throughout the state.

Not that there haven't been competitive matches since the season started.

Cherokee Trail (Aurora) looked strong in its season opening win against Chaparral (which was the top-ranked team in the state at the time). Amaya Messier totaled 13 kills in the match while Maddie Cooley added 12.

Grandview (Aurora) staked its place as one of the top teams in the state by knocking off Lewis-Palmer in a sweep, the first time the Rangers had been swept since the 2015 state championship match against Cheyenne Mountain.

Also of note: Denver Christian gave Alamosa its first regular-season loss since 2017, and a retooled Kit Carson team dropped a five-set thriller to La Veta thanks in part to the dominating offensive performances by Nya Sciacca and Desi Ortivez, who each had at least 20 kills.

Class 5A
No. 4 Valor Christian (Highlands Ranch.) at No. 3 Legend (Parker), 6 p.m., Sept. 19
As the defending 5A state champion, Valor Christian is somehow flying under the radar in 2019. Senior Anna Davis has been spectacular in the Eagles' first four matches, totaling 41 kills. She's getting plenty of help from a couple of hard-hitting freshmen in Erin McNair and Sasha Cohen. They picked up an early win over Cherry Creek (Greenwood Village) to ease any doubt of a championship letdown and have enough talent sprinkled through the roster that no team should be prepared for anything less than an intense battle. The good news for Legend is that it'll be plenty battle-tested by the time that match rolls around. The Titans' early schedule had them facing off against Cherokee Trail, Chaparral and Rampart, which are all making claims as top teams in 5A. Rylie Kadel's 89 kills have her ranked in the top five in the state. The Eagles also have to be aware of Chandler Fleming, who has 45 kills of her own.

Class 5A/4A
5A No. 2 Chaparral (Parker) at 4A No. 4 Cheyenne Mountain (Colorado Springs), 6 p.m., Sept. 12
Cheyenne Mountain is almost four years removed from its last 4A state championship but looks to be back on the rise. A non-league match against Chaparral (the 5A state runner-up) should be a good measuring stick of how the Indians will fare this season. Through just two matches senior Morgan Kerchner has found hitters left and right, racking up 42 assists. Sophomore Karlee Pinell leads the Indians in hitting with 25 kills on the year. The Wolverines could easily make the trip down south in a bit of a rabid mood. They dropped their season opener to Cherokee Trail and also lost to cross-town rival Legend. Julianna Dalton leads Chaparral with 77 kills  and is nearly matched by Emma Ammerman, who has 74. Morgan Riddle and Katie Dalton also have more than 50 kills, making the Wolverines one of the most powerful offensive lineups in the state.

4A No. 3 Palmer Ridge (Monument) at 5A No. 6 Rampart (Colorado Springs), 6 p.m., Sept. 19
Rampart coach Nikki Bloemen has to be excited about what she sees on the court this year. She has veteran leadership back with Grace Wilkinson and a couple of powerful hitters in Riley Simpson and Anjelina Starck. The duo has combined for 80 kills in the short season and has Rampart of the verge of climbing back to the top ranks of the 5A class. Palmer Ridge has its own Riley providing offense in junior Riley Anderson. She leads the team with 34 kills. while senior Olivia Parsley has 30 to her name. The Bears took last year's meeting and are looking to make it two straight against the resurgent Rams.

Class 4A
No. 9 Niwot at No. 6 Silver Creek (Longmont), 6:30 p.m., Sept. 17
As the 4A state runner-up in 2019, Niwot lost a lot of offensive production to graduation. So it's going to be a case of Next Player Up as the Cougars will be tested early against Silver Creek. Junior hitter Natasha Terekhova brings back the bulk of the Niwot offense as she totaled 89 kills in 2018. In all, the Cougars have three freshmen and four sophomores on the roster. They may not be the same team as they were a year ago, but consistency in the program leads one to believe that they'll be fine in the long run. Silver Creek's early success should set the pace for a competitive Raptors team. Sophomore Megan Sotiroff was impressive with 13 kills, second only to Caitlin Volkmann's 18.

No. 5 Discovery Canyon (Colorado Springs) at No. 8 Coronado (Colorado Springs), 6 p.m., Oct. 1
Discovery Canyon is looking to build on last year's run to the 4A state tournament, and the early results indicate it is more than capable of doing just that. Winners of six of their first seven matches, the Thunder has a great mix of senior leadership and supplemental talent. Junior Paityn Kramer leads the team with 39 kills. Fellow junior Aaliyanna Codrington and seniors Taylor Wanderscheid and Tatum Umiamaka all have at least 15 kills. Junior Sophia Boushell has been outstanding defensively with 83 digs. Coronado is under the leadership of first-year coach Crisy Leonhardt. Despite a loss to Lewis-Palmer, the team has looked solid early with junior Maycie Rogers leading the way with 13 kills and Caroline Risenhoover providing production at the net, totaling six blocks.

Class 4A/3A
3A No. 2 Eaton at 4A No. 1 Lewis-Palmer (Monument), Noon, Sept. 28
Lewis-Palmer doesn't want to believe it's in rebuilding mode. A program that turns out talent year after year took a massive hit from graduation and is hoping that a crop of first-year varsity players are able to fill that void. The Rangers loss to Grandview on Sept. 5 wasn't ideal, but it did provide some encouraging signs. Through the first two matches of the year, Danielle Norman totaled 30 kills while Gianna Bartalo totaled 57 digs while committing just one error. For the first time since 2013, the Reds enter a year not having won a state title the season before. Mackenzie Harris is gone but juniors Sydney Leffler (27 kills) and Abbey Hays (23 kills) helped the Reds look traditionally strong on offense.

Class 3A
No. 3 Colorado Springs Christian at St. Mary's (Colorado Springs), 6:30 p.m., Oct. 8
An early Tri-Peaks League game for both teams will have a bit of a different twist. The Lions are coming off a runner-up finish in the 3A state tournament and the Pirates are now under the leadership of David Barkley, the man responsible for Cheyenne Mountain's volleyball dominance for much of the last decade. CSCS is led by Charlie Tidwell and Jubilee Diamond. Tidwell has totaled 38 kills and 36 digs this season, while Diamond has 26 kills to 37 digs. The Pirates return Seneca Hackley, Jillian Kellick, Sarah Connors, Katie Morales and Alexa LaMack, who all totaled more than 100 kills last year.


Class 3A/2A
3A No. 6 Sterling at 2A No. 6 Yuma, 6:30 p.m., Sept. 24
It's hard to truly evaluate a team off one match, but Sydney Henry and Kaylee Johnson might be the best sophomore hitting combination in the state. In the Tigers' first match of the year – a win over Fort Morgan – the duo combined for 24 kills. They have forced teams to pay attention to what Sterling is doing and just how tough it might be to slow down two top hitters as opposed to just one. Yuma stumbled a bit to start the season but has seven upperclassmen returning from last year's state championship team. Ema Richardson leads the Indians offensively with 12 kills, while sophomore Elle Roth has been solid defensively with 19 total digs. A matchup against a top 3A could help prepare Yuma in its bid for a second straight title.

Class 2A
No. 1 Denver Christian at No. 2 Limon, 6 p.m., Sept. 27
Before Denver Christian dives into the bulk of its league schedule, it takes to the road to take on the second-ranked team in 2A. The Thunder has been on a roll early this season with wins over strong teams like Mead and Alamosa. In the season-opening win against Colorado Academy (Denver), Anna Kaemingk led the Thunder with 21 assists, and sophomore Emily Sullivan took the most advantage of those chances by totaling 13 kills. The Badgers suffered an early loss to Kit Carson, but have played sound volleyball this season. Through just eight sets, Trista Marx grabbed the team lead in kills with 25. Junior Jaley Schubarth has been a nightmare for opposing hitters with 13 total blocks.

Class 1A
No. 6 Otis at No. 8 Genoa-Hugo/Karval, 12:30 p.m., Sept. 14
Despite not claiming a 1A state title since 2015, Otis always finds its way into the conversation of championship aspirations. This season is no different and the Bulldogs are looking at a tough road in their hunt to leave the Denver Coliseum with championship hardware. On that tough road is a trip to Genoa-Hugo/Karval. The Pirates have grabbed early wins against Eads, Cheraw and Cheyenne Wells earning a spot as a 1A team to keep an eye on. Otis has a strong junior hitting combination of Becca Bleak (54 kills) and Anthoneya Schaffert (35 kills).