Panthers try to defend 4A Region D title

Panthers try to defend 4A Region D title

November 1, 2001

POSING WITH THEIR PLAQUE are members of the Montezuma-Cortez High School varsity volleyball team. They are (top row, left to right): Lindsey Wilson, Sasha Yarbrough, Jessie Pickens, Arista Petillo, Gina Franchini, Colette Hall, Courtnie Lanier; (bottom row): Stefanie Allison, Emily Harclerode, Merina Lippis, Casey Bauer, and Cassie Carver. The Panthers won the District VII Tournament title for the third year in a row and will play at the Region D Tournament this Saturday at Pueblo West High School. Cortez has won that title for the past two years in a row. A win or a second-place showing there will put the Panthers into the Class 4A State Tournament Nov. 9-10 in the Denver Coliseum.

BY JIM THOMAS
Journal Sports Editor

No. 2 ranked Cortez, 23-1, will now advance to the Regional Tournament in Pueblo this Friday and Saturday, Nov. 2-3, at Pueblo West High School. Montezuma-Cortez High School is in the Class 4A Region D tournament at Pueblo West (22-1) along with Summit County (20-2) and Cheyenne Mountain (15-9).

A tourney title or a second--place showing there will send the Panthers on to the State Volleyball Championships Nov. 9-10 in the Denver Coliseum. MCHS has won a Regional title the last two years in a row. The Panthers finished tied for third in 1999 and was a qualifier at State last season.

District VII second place Steamboat Springs (20-4) will play in the Region C tournament at Mullen (14-8). Alamosa and Mountain View (17-6) are the other two teams in the field. No. 3 seed Glenwood Springs (17-5) is at Conifer (18-5), along with Lewis-Palmer (22-2) and Valley (19-4).

Meanwhile in Class 2A at the District III Tournament, second-seeded Telluride and top-seeded Dolores will be making the trip to Regionals. North Park (16-3), Dolores (20-3), Grand Valley (15-7) and Telluride (19-2) play in the Class 2A Region C tournament Saturday, Nov. 3, at Palisade High School.

Tickets for the 4A Region D Tournament or the 2A Region C Tournament are $4 for students and seniors, and $6 general admission.

The Panthers earned the top seed from District VII by defeating highly-regarded Steamboat Springs, a State qualifier a year ago, in the championship game Saturday evening played in Ron Wright Memorial Gym. MCHS won 15-8, 15-3.

"We had a good tournament," MCHS head coach Lindy Mortensen commented. "It was a tough field. We needed this type of competition."

Members of the MCHS team include: junior Merina Lippis, sophomore Arista Petillo, sophomore Courtnie Lanier, junior Stefanie Allison, sophomore Cassie Carver, junior Emily Harclerode, freshman Gina Franchini, sophomore Lindsey Wilson, sophomore Sasha Yarbrough, senior Casey Bauer, senior Colette Hall, and freshman Jessie Pickens.

According to the state leaderboard for 4A, Bauer has made 17 aces, 28 blocks, 292 attacks, and picked up 118 digs. Wilson has 30 blocks. Hall has 21 blocks and 108 digs. Allison has 200 attacks and 129 digs. Harclerode has 368 assists and Carver 121. Yarbrough has 92 digs.

Summit has some strong players. Aurora Ebert-Santos has made 28 service aces and has 80 assists. Stephanie Ruckreigle and Stephanie Van Norman have 26 and 25 blocks, respectively. Pueblo West has players showing up in the statistics. Lauren Dunsmoor has 25 aces and 173 attacks. Emily Gray has 15 aces, 39 blocks, and 89 attacks. Caroline Ottino has 48 blocks and Lindsay Clason 391 assists. Cheyenne Mountain players did not show up among the leaders.

Here is a look at the other pre-seeded 4A regional tournaments: Region A has Conifer (18-5), top-ranked Lewis-Palmer (22-2), Valley (19-4), and Glenwood Springs (17-5); Region B has Brighton (20-1), Fort Morgan (22-1), Evergreen (15-6), and Pine Creek (19-5); and Region C has Mullen (14-8), Alamosa (no record available), Steamboat Springs (20-4), and Mountain View (17-6). Berthoud, the defending 4A champion, did not qualify.

At the District III Tournament in Telluride, Dolores won the title and top-seed to this week’s Regionals.

Dolores took on Mancos and lost in the first game 11-15, but came back to win 15-4, 15-8. The Bears then beat Nucla 15-4, but struggled in the second game and came away with a 15-12 win. The Bears then faced San Juan Basin League regular-season champ and previously undefeated Telluride. The Bears shocked the Miners by winning 9-15, 15-6, 15-5.

"We put an exclamation on our season with our play at districts," DHS head coach Joye McHenry said. "Our toughest game was against Mancos. We lost the first, we’re slow starters, but we won the next two just like we did against Telluride. It was a good tournament for us."

Members of the Dolores team include: junior Sarah Nielson, junior Joni Everett, junior Tracy Everett, junior Jennifer Cross, junior Ann Fecteau, senior Gloria Spada, senior Ashley Smith, senior Kristen Gustafson, and senior Amanda Cross. The Bears are guided by head coach Joye McHenry and assisted by Kendall Allen.

The Bears will take on Grand Valley beginning at 9 a.m. at about 1 p.m. they will meet Telluride and then at 4 p.m. take on North Park. Dolores played as the State Tournament two years ago but did not play well and did not place.

"Our toughest competition will be ourselves," she said. "We can’t make mistakes and expect to win. We can be our own worst enemy. But I really believe the girls are peaking and playing very good volleyball right now. We are looking good. We will just have to take one game at a time," McHenry added.

Telluride will likely be the toughest competition for Dolores. Telluride won both of the regular-season games in San Juan Basin League play but Dolores won at the District III Tournament last week on the Miners’ home court. Telluride is led by Sydney Melzer, Chelsey Padilla, Inga Johannson, and Rhea DePagter.

Here is a look at the other pre-seeded Class 2A regionals: Region A has Wiley (18-5), Sargent (22-1), top-ranked Swink (20-2), and Crested Butte (19-5); Region B has Heritage Christian (22-1), Haxtun (15-6), Alexander Dawson (12-10), and Akron (12-9); and Region D has Strasburg (20-3), Fowler (16-6), Byers (16-6), and Hoehne (14-7).