Montezuma-Cortez High School tripped up top-seeded Steamboat Springs to win the Class 4A District 7 volleyball title Saturday, Oct. 28, at Glenwood High School.

The Panthers gave up just six points to the Sailors in the 15-2, 15-4 victory. The win wrapped up the district's top seed for the Panthers to the Regional D Tournament. Steamboat Springs earned the second seed with the loss. And Rifle, with its 15-9, 15-9 win over Montrose in the third-place match, locked up the final seed. The top three teams advance to this week's regional tournament, with the No. 1 seed hosting at Ron Wright Memorial Gym. District VII top seed Panthers (20-1) will host District 5 top seed Pueblo West (22-1), District II no. 3 seed Cheyenne Mountain (12-12), and District 6 no. 2 seed Summit County (18-4). It will be a round-robin format with the top two teams advancing to the Class 4A State Volleyball Championships in the Denver Coliseum Nov. 10-11.

"It should be a great tournament," MCHS head coach Lindy Mortensen commented. "It will be tough because every team here is good."

The tournament will get under way at 9 a.m. with Pueblo West taking on Summit County. MCHS will play Cheyenne Mountain at about 10:15. Pueblo West will battle Cheyenne Mountain at 11:30. The Panthers will play Summit County at 12:45 p.m. Summit County will play Cheyenne Mountain at 2 p.m. and MCHS will play Pueblo West at 3:15 which will complete round-robin play.

The Panthers reached the championship game by beating Montrose in the semifinals 15-9, 15-12. The Sailors reached the championship match of the two-day, eight-team tourney after holding off Rifle in the semifinals. The teams split the first two games, Steamboat winning the first 15-13 and the Bears taking the second 16-14. Steamboat, however, rolled in the deciding game 15-0 to advance to the title game.

In Pool B play, Cortez knocked off Glenwood Springs 15-5, 15-11. They beat Moffat County 15-11, 15-2 and then struggled but finally pulled through with a 11-15, 15-11, 16-14 win over a very good Rifle team. Palisade and Delta saw their seasons come to an end with losses in pool play. The Bulldogs fell to Steamboat 15-5, 15-11, and Delta dropped a 15-8, 15-11 match to Montrose.

"Every team we faced at Districts made us play hard. When we would get into trouble, the girls would pull through," Mortensen commented.