AURORA | The area’s two boys volleyball teams that appear in the Colorado High School Activities Association’s Class 5A top 10 stood on opposite sides of the net for a Centennial League showdown Thursday night.
Fourth-ranked Eaglecrest and sixth-ranked Grandview — both of which won recent tournaments and were on multiple-match winning streaks — met on the Wolves’ home floor and the Raptors claimed a 25-23, 25-23, 22-25, 25-15 victory.
Coach Chad Bond’s Eaglecrest team, which won the Legend Tournament over the previous weekend, got up by two sets, held off a late rally and finished off a ninth consecutive victory. The Raptors improved to 17-2 overall and 6-1 in league play.
Grandview — which took the Cheyenne Mountain title before the start of the week — tried to dig out of a two-set hole, but coach Scott Nugent’s team dropped to 15-4 overall and 5-2 in the Centennial League.
The last loss for both Aurora area teams before their match came to top-ranked Littleton Public Schools, which defeated Eaglecrest in five sets April 1 and Grandview in four sets April 3.
The Wolves held a two-point lead late in the opening set, but two errant shots followed by a well-placed tip shot by sophomore Will George delivered it for the Raptors. The second set was equally deadlocked late until consecutive blocks by seniors Matthew Dye and Austin Wells gave that one to Eaglecrest as well.
Grandview claimed the third set, but the Raptors refused to allow it to get to a deciding fifth set.
Ahead for both teams is the Centennial League Challenge tournament, which will be officially seeded following the conclusion of Friday’s match between Cherokee Trail and Overland.
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@sentinelcolorado.com. Twitter/X: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
