Two area high school teams are heading to the State Volleyball Tournament this Friday and Saturday, Nov. 12-13, in Denver University’s Magness Arena.

Montezuma-Cortez High School will represent the area in Class 4A while Dolores High School will represent the area in Class 2A.

The Panthers (23-2) are the no. 3 seed in Pool I. Mullen (20-4) is top seed. ThunderRidge (19-8) is the no. 2 seed and Sand Creek (18-9) is the no. 4 seed. In Pool II, Berthoud (22-4) is the no. 1 seed, Pine Creek (22-5) is the no. 2 seed, Fort Morgan (25-1) is the no. 3 seed and Rifle (23-6) is the no. 4 seed.

The Panthers open the tourney the first day by playing ThunderRidge about 9:30 a.m. and then play Mullen around 11 to noon. They must get up early and play Sand Creek at 8 a.m. Saturday which completes pool play. If the Panthers can finish among the top two, they will be cross-bracketed and play later that afternoon in the semifinals. The championship game is scheduled for 4:45 p.m.

The Bears (24-2) are the no. 2 seed in Pool II. Swink (21-4) is the top seed while Strasburg (25-1) is the no. 3 seed and Julesburg (17-5) the no. 4 seed. In Pool I, Platte Valley (25-0) is the top seed, Caliche (19-6) is the no. 2 seed, Wiley (18-7) no. 3 seed, and West Grand (16-8) no. 4 seed.

The Bears play Strasburg around 10 a.m. then they take on Julesburg around 4 p.m. and Swink about 6 p.m.

Cortez earned the right to advance to State by finishing second in the Region D Tournament which was held at Pueblo Centennial High School on Saturday, Nov. 6. The Panthers, facing a do-or-die situation crushed no. 1 seed Pueblo Centennial 15-3, 15-1.

The girls were driven by this point in the day," MCHS coach Lindy Mortensen commented. "There was no way they were going to lose and not go to State. This was our last shot to go on. They took advantage of every mistake Pueblo Centennial made and hammered them. They were hitting to score not hitting to get the ball in. We took them right out of their game."

The Panthers came out nervous, against a good Pine Creek team and fell 10-15, 14-16.

"I never saw them so tight. Pine Creek has a good team. They serve well and our serve-receive was tested. They scored a lot off our mistakes in that first game," she noted.

The Panthers were down 4-14 but made a gallant comeback but Pine Creek held on.

In the second game, Cortez played hard and went up by six points. Pine Creek battled back with their excellent serving. The game went back-and-forth with several sideouts. Cortez got the game close at 14-15 but missed a serve. Pine Creek then got the final point for the match win.

"The girls weren’t down," Mortensen added. "I think they were more upset at themselves that they didn’t play better. But they made up for it in the next game."

The Panthers crushed Widefield 15-2 in the first game and won 15-7 in the nightcap.

"They knew they had to win this game. The played better because they were more relaxed. In the second game I thought we played very well. Widefield has a good team and we respected their play. The game was close and there were some decent rallies. But the girls stayed in control and they got some points off their mistakes," she added.

That set up the final game against Pueblo Centennial.

The Panthers have not been to State since they finished third in Class 3A when Sharon Petterson was head coach and Mortensen her assistant. But this is the first time Cortez has advanced to State in Class 4A.

The Bears and Blue Jays, the area’s two Class 2A volleyball teams, had contrasting destinies at the Region C Volleyball Tournament on Saturday at Palisade High School.

Dolores earned its first berth at the State Volleyball Tournament in 21 years after sweeping Grand Valley 15-12, 15-3 in its first game; and clinching a State spot with a 15-10, 15-4 win over Mancos. In their final match, the Bears took a 15-9, 15-13 win over West Grand to take the Region C top spot.

Mancos returned home empty handed, ending its season with a still impressive 17-7 record. The mercurial Blue Jay hit their peak in their first match against West Grand but fell 15-11, 15-17, 13-15. Their loss to Dolores made them a long shot. And in their final match versus Grand Valley, they came up short 9-15, 13-15. 8-15.

An invitation to the State Tournament has been a long time coming for the Bears, who last made it to the Big Dance back in 1978. For fourth-year coach Joye McHenry, who began her coach career at Dolores when the current group of senior were all freshmen, the invite is a fitting culmination.

"That looked like six seniors not ready to die," McHenry said after the final Bear match at Palisade. "There was a lot of fight and a lot of hustle and they looked good. We won by two (games) in each one. That’s some good ball playing to go in there and just clean house."

Senior strongside setter Ruthie Martin agreed with her coach’s assessment.

"Something happened in that first game, I don’t know what it was," Martin said. "I’ve never felt that way before, none of us have. Something just clicked. I don’t know if it’s whether we’re all seniors and might never play again or what, but something clicked.

The Bears took a while to limber up in their first match. Grand Valley jumped out to a five point lead on its first service in game one. Brianna Hanson stepped behind the serving line, and a Bear romp began. She tied the game with an ace, and then April LeBlanc smacked a kill into the Cardinals’ midcourt to put Dolores out front to stay. LeBlanc was good for an ace that put the Bears up 10-5. Grand Valley scored three straight points, and managed to tie the score at 12. Dolores put the game away with three straight tallied beginning with a LeBlanc dink and finishing up with a Cardinal grounded ball.

Having seized the mental edge in the first game, the Bears poured it on in game two. A kill by Hanson put Dolores up 10-1. T. The combined serving of Hanson and Erin Chanay was good for five straight points for game and match.

Injuries to key players on both sides no doubt had an impact when Dolores went up against traditional rival Mancos. Bear middle hitter Hanson and Melissa Keller, the Blue Jays’ setter both went down with ankle injuries in the first game. Depth on the Dolores side made the difference.

No one could take advantage of serving in game one. The Blue Jays scored twice in their first service and a long spate of sideout trades followed. A Mancos net violation gave the Bears a point after five servers had gone to the line. With Jenelle Burkhart at the line, the Jays’ hitting came alive and they were good for a run of seven with Randee Reider and Kristin Paxton getting kills, and Erica Russell making good with a dink. Dolores trailed 1-7 when Hanson left the game, and it was a 3-9 game when Keller checked out.

The loss of one of their mainstays deflated the Blue Jays, and Dolores took the game over, tallying 12 unanswered points. LeBlanc notched a kill to tie the score, and a Mancos grounder put Dolores ahead 9-8. It was a 14-10 lead when Martin put an ace over and a two-hitter decided the game in favor of the Bears.

Mancos drew first blood in the second game, thanks to a Russell block. The Bears replied with an 11-point run interrupted only when Mancos scored on a block by Paxton and a Dolores grounder. Dolores picked up the pace when Chanay served an ace to put the Bears up 12-3. Leading 14-4, Martin put the Bears over the top with a kill.

Only seeding was on the line when the Bears took on West Grand, both teams having clinched berths at the State Tournament. Hanson walked off a sore ankle and was back on the court with a vengeance.

Dolores held a slim 4-2 lead early but the Mustangs came on strong with a six-point run. The Bears recovered and took the lead with some good play at the net, taking a 11-8 lead. West Grand put its final point up on a Dolores outbounded ball and then stumbled. Chanay racked up a kill, and Dolores led 14-9. An illegal hit called against the Mustangs gave Dolores its winning point.

The second game was a tougher contest for the Bears who had to fight back a determined team of Mustangs. Dolores led 8-4 at one points, only to see West Grand pull ahead 10-9. Dolores trailed 13-11 when it began its final push with a Mustang outbounded ball and a ace serve by Lindy Frederick which tied the game up. The Bears’ mental edge was just enough to put the game away, and they were up 14-13 after another outbounded ball. Hanson put game and match away with a kill.

The Blue Jays hit the court and played good emotional volleyball to begin the Regional bash. But the Jays seemed to run out of emotional steam as the tourney progressed.

In the first game against West Grand, Mancos led throughout in spite of playing tight at the beginning. Paxton slammed a kill to give the Jays a 6-2 lead, and it was an 8-3 gap when she aced a serve. The score was 12-7 when the Mustangs mounted a challenge and pulled to within two points at 13-11. Momentum was enough to keep the Jays going as the put the game away behind Burkhart’s serving.

Mancos stayed on track in the second game and looked to be en route to a sweep. But the Jays fell apart after taking an 11-1 lead and then stalling. Mancos took a 14-11 lead behind Desirae Bazile’s serving, but the Mustangs pulled ahead with four more tallies. Reider tied the score at 15-15 with a kill, but the Jays were called for an illegal hit to put West Grand back up. A net violation gave West Grand game two.

The Blue Jays fought to a 4-4 tie in the second game before coming their game became unraveled. West Grand went on to rack up 11 unanswered points to and the match win.

All pressured was off when Mancos and Grand Valley met for the final match of the tournament and the final match of the season for both teams. Accordingly, the match was a relaxed one with nothing to be decided except memories and bragging rights. The Jays were without the considerable setting talents of Keller who watched from the sideline and nursed a very sore ankle.

Mancos hung tough in the first game and was in a 5-5 deadlock before the Cardinal broke away with a six point run. The Jays put four points together beginning with a Paxton kill, but the run only slowed Plateau Valley down. After scoring two straight points, the Cards put the game away with back-to-back aces.