Panthers, Bears earn trip to State

Panthers, Bears earn trip to State

November 6, 2001

By Jim Thomas
Journal Sports Editor

Two area volleyball teams are still playing going into this weekend. That can only mean one thing: Both are headed to the State Tournament. Montezuma-Cortez High School won the Region D Tournament title this past Saturday, Nov. 3, and will go in as the top seed to the Class 4A State Volleyball Tournament this Friday and Saturday, Nov. 9-10, in the Denver Coliseum. Dolores finished second at the Region C Tournament and will go in as the no. 8 seed to the Class 2A State Volleyball Tournament, also this Friday and Saturday in the Denver Coliseum.

The outcome was the same as a year ago when the Region D Tournament was held in Ron Wright Memorial Gym. The Panthers won the title last year and they won again this year but this time the tournament was played at Pueblo West with the same teams: MCHS, Pueblo West, Summit, and Cheyenne Mountain.

The Cyclones, who did not qualify a year ago, rode that home advantage in the Region D tournament to their first state tournament berth. The Cyclones beat a good Summit team 15-2, 12-15, 15-7 in the match that meant a state tournament berth. They played Cortez in the final match of the tournament for seeding and lost 15-3, 15-12 to the Panthers, who earned its third trip to state in six years under head coach Lindy Mortensen.

"We came out really strong in that match," Mortensen commented. "We knew at that point we were in the (state tournament. They had the home crowd behind them but that only seemed to fire up our girls. After we won the first game, we took the crowd out of it. The second game went back and forth. We had to play well. I think the girls just wanted that no. 1 seed and they got it."

The Panthers take a 26-1 record to state after finishing 3-0 in pool play in Regionals while the Cyclones take a 24-2 mark to Denver.

That first match of the day was pivotal, according to Mortensen.

"We knew Summit had a good team from a year ago. We knew we had to win or do or die for the other two," she said.

The Panthers won 15-9, 8-15, 15-10.

"In the second match, we made some mistakes and they (Summit) just kept hitting harder and serving better. I wasn’t necessarily worried at that point, but our girls just hung in there. The third game went back and forth. I don’t think either team scored more than three points in a row," Mortensen commented.

The Cyclones started slow on Saturday morning, fighting off a nasty Cheyenne Mountain team 15-9, 15-7.

MCHS then took on Cheyenne Mountain and won in straight sets, 15-9, 15-7.

"Cheyenne Mountain scared me when I watched them warm up. They have taller girls and they hit well from the right side. But our girls played tough. They really played well that match," she added.

Pueblo West then outlast Summit 15-2, 12-15, 15-7. Cheyenne Mountain beat Summit 15-11, 15-12. At that point, MCHS knew it had already won a trip to State, but still had to face Pueblo West for first or second seed from Region D.

For the tournament, Mortensen was pleased with the play of Merina Lippis who played well on defense. She said Sasha Yarbrough passed well on serve-receive. Colette Hall made some outstanding blocks and hit well. Setters Emily Harclerode and Cassie Carver set well. Lindsey Wilson played solid at the net. Casey Bauer and Stefanie Allison got their usual kill averages.

The top two teams from the San Juan Basin League and District III Tournament emerged at Regionals at Palisade High School. Telluride finished as the tournament’s only undefeated team with three wins and qualified for State.

Dolores, which went into the tournament at Palisade High School as one of only two teams to beat Telluride this season, picked up a 16-14, 15-4 win over North Park in the final match of the day to finish 2-1 and second in the tournament and earned the trip to State.

Dropped to the tournament's No. 4 seed after losing to Dolores in the district tournament last weekend, the Miners (22-2) got through with a pair of three-game wins over North Park (15-9, 9-15, 15-2) and the Bears (15-10, 9-15, 15-3) and an easy 15-10, 15-4 win over a deflated Grand Valley team.

The Bears took on Grand Valley in the opener and won 15-6, 12-12.

"We came out fired up," DHS head coach Joye McHenry commented. "We were ready to play. It was a good way to start the tournament," she said.

The Bears played their old league rival Telluride in their second game.

"We were playing good ball and the scores in the first two games showed that. Even in the third game we were still playing well but we lost our composure," McHenry added.

North Park defeated Grand Valley 8-15, 15-13, 15-6 win over Grand Valley (15-10) which set the tone for the final game between North Park and Dolores.

The Bears won the first game 16-14, despite trailing 10-14 at one point.

"Even when we were down, I wasn’t worried because we were playing so well. I think in that second game that North Park was spent. After losing like that and fighting us hard at the end, they didn’t have a lot left for the final game. Our girls were fired up once again and took it to them in the final game," she added.