DENVER — It was not a typical tournament for the Class 4A State Volleyball Tournament.

For one thing, multi-time and two-time defending champion Fort Morgan was ousted from the tournament.

And who would have thought that Lewis-Palmer and Berthoud would play for the championship? Berthoud ended up defeating Lewis-Palmer 6-15, 17-15, 15-1 to win the title.

As for top-seeded Montezuma-Cortez High School, the Panthers won their first match against Pine Creek but lost to Lewis-Palmer and Mullen in Pool 1 play on Friday, Nov. 10. The Panthers did not advance into Saturday’s cross-bracketed play and left for home.

The Panthers took on Pine Creek at 8 a.m. Friday morning and finally pulled out a 15-17, 15-7, 15-5 win. It looked like the local girls were still asleep when they played. They just were not on their game and they played nothing like they did only the week before at Regionals.

It took several sideouts before a point was scored in the first game. The Eagles scored it, too, when a Panther missed the ball. Cortez took the lead at 2-1 but Pine Creek battled back to take a 2-5 lead at which point head coach Lindy Mortensen called timeout. During that span, Cortez hit the ball into the net, made a bad set, and hit two balls out-of-bounds. Pine Creek stretched it lead to 2-7. With Stefanie Allison serving, the Panthers quickly made up the difference, mostly taking advantage of Pine Creek errors. The score was now 5-7. Pine Creek led 7-9 but finally the Panthers managed to take the lead at 10-9 following a block by Denise Newlin. The score was knotted at 10-all and then Cortez went up 12-10 and PCHS called time. The score was tied again at 12-12. The Panthers went up 14-12 but could not get that final point. Pine Creek charged back and tied it at 14-14. It was tied again 15-15. Catherine Beulke served an ace for Pine Creek and then a Cortez hit the ball into the net.

Pine Creek jumped out to a 1-5 lead in the second game. They led 2-7 when Katie Buettner served an ace. Cortez scored a couple quick points but still trailed 4-7. With Allison serving, Cortez went on a run to take an 8-7 advantage. Casey Bauer made a kill and slam. After a couple sideouts, Cortez went on another run behind the serving of Colette Hall and was soon up 13-7, mostly taking advantage of Pine Creek miscues. After Pine Creek knocked the ball out-of-bounds for a Cortez point, Newlin served an ace for the win.

The teams were now tied 1-1 going into the third game of the match. Pine Creek scored the first point and then it took several sideouts before Cortez scored. It took five more sideouts before the Panthers went up 3-1. Four more sideouts later, Cortez went on a run. With Liz Dennison serving, MCHS went out to a 8-1 lead. Emilie Lanier made a kill and pushed the ball over for points and Allison made a kill during that run. PCHS scored three straight points to close within 8-4. Cortez later stretched its lead to 11-5. The teams traded more sideouts. Cortez, though, clearly had the momentum and added more points for the win.

Around 1:30 p.m., the Panthers took to the court again. This time they would face a much taller team in Lewis-Palmer. But the Rangers would rule the day with a 13-15, 15-6, 7-15 win. This was clearly the match of the day. The Panthers looked more ready to play by this point in the long day.

In the first game, Cortez took a 2-0 lead, but L-P tied it at 2-2. Cortez went up 3-2 when a ball was hit O.B. The teams traded sideouts before MCHS led 4-2. Behind the serving of Amanda Wiggins, LPHS went on a run going up 4-7. Lindsey Leband made two blocks for points. The Panthers scored on a block by Allison. LPHS added a couple more points to lead 6-9. The teams traded sideouts. LPHS soon was up 11-6 when Mortensen called a timeout. The Rangers led 8-13 when Cortez put three consecutive points on the board to pull within 11-13. L-P added a point to put it on the brink of winning at 11-14. Cortez picked up two more points, but a kill by Beulke ended it.

The Rangers jumped out to a 4-0 lead but with Lanier serving, the Panthers quickly tied the game at 4-4 to start the second game. Allison made two kills during that span. Cortez went up 7-5 and soon were up 9-5. L-P scored followed by several sideouts and then Cortez scored. The teams then traded more sideouts. Allison served an ace for an 11-6 lead. MCHS went up 13-6. Cortez scored two of the last three points for the win.

Cortez took a 4-0 lead but the Rangers came back and tied the game at 4-4 in the third game. The teams traded several sideouts before L-P went on a scoring run. A block by Leband, a kill by Krista Rosenbush, a block by Amy Rladow, and another kill by Rosenbush propelled the Rangers to a 4-10 lead. Cortez managed two points on a block by Hall and a block by Allison. L-P scored the next three points for a 12-6 lead and an MCHS time. Following several sideouts, the Rangers scored and then scored again to lead 14-6. Cortez managed a point. Wiggins scored the final point with a kill for the game and match win.

Now the Panthers faced a do-or-die situation for the third match of the day Friday night against Mullen. This was a match of momentum swings, but the Mustangs prevailed 15-5, 2-15, 13-15.

Mullen started the first game off on the right track with a 1-5 lead. Cortez rallied to pull within 4-5. After three sideouts, Bauer scored off a block and a kill to put Cortez on top 6-5. Behind the serving of Newlin, the Panthers reeled off six straight points for a 12-5 advantage. Bauer made two kills and Andrea Derrick made a kill. They traded sideouts and then with Bauer serving Cortez polished them off.

The Panthers started making mistakes to start the second game and soon fell behind 0-8. The teams traded two sideouts each before Mullen added another point. The teams traded eight sideouts and soon the Mustangs were up 10-0 when Mortensen called timeout. The Mustangs added three more points before Cortez avoided the shutout with two points. Mullen then closed the Panthers out.

The final game was real interesting. Cortez moved out to a 6-1 lead behind two nice kills by Derrick and two kills by Bauer coupled with two Mullen errors. Leading 6-3, Cortez seemed to have things going in its direction. With Abby Hartmann serving, the Mustangs scored the next eight consecutive points. Two of those points were made by Mullen, the rest were because of Cortez mistakes. The Panthers scored two points off kills by Bauer. The teams battled back and forth. Cortez led 13-11. A push and a kill by Allison tied the game at 13. Megan Bye made a kill and then game, match and tournament ended with a Cortez error.

The Panthers, though, can still take pride in having an outstanding season. They dominated the regular season, capped off by a perfect record in the Southwest League. They whipped all their opponents at Districts and Regionals. They finished the season with an outstanding 24-3 overall record. Playing in their last match for MCHS were seniors Newlin, Derrick, and Lanier.