AURORA | Capsule preview of the Class 5A Region 9 girls volleyball tournament at Fossil Ridge High School scheduled for Nov. 4, 2022, that includes No. 9 Fossil Ridge, No. 16 Eaglecrest and No. 28 Ponderosa:
Courtney Oakes is Sentinel Colorado Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@sentinelcolorado.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
2022 CLASS 5A REGION 9 GIRLS VOLLEYBALL
Nov. 4 at Fossil Ridge High School
BREAKDOWN: Three teams — No. 9 Fossil Ridge (17-6), No. 16 Eaglecrest (15-8) and No. 28 Ponderosa (8-14) — convene at Fossil Ridge High School for a trio of matches that begin at noon and will decide which team advances to the Class 5A state tournament Nov. 10-12 at the Denver Coliseum. None of the three teams have played each other in the regular season.
FOSSIL RIDGE (9): The 17-6 host SaberCats won the championship of the Front Range League and ended the regular season with a 2-2 showing at the Cheyenne Mountain Tournament. Coach Natalie Burton’s Fossil Ridge team played 13 matches against teams that qualified for 5A regional play and finished with a 10-3 record in those matches. The SaberCats have five players who have recorded 130 or more kills on the season with the heaviest volume coming from junior OH Emma Converse, who has 214 on the season with senior MB Maya Siple close behind with 197. Sophomore MB/RS Erin Herrmann joins Converse and Siple with an average of more than two kills per set. Converse also leads the team in service aces (36), Herrmann paces the squad in blocks (55 total), senior L Bella Kiefer is the digs leader with 219 and senior S Emma Grace Moddelmog is the main ballhandler who has averaged 6.9 assists per set. Last state tournament appearance: Made 5A state tournament in 2018 and went 2-2.
EAGLECREST (16): The 15-8 Raptors finished in fourth place in the multiple-classification Centennial League, went 1-2 in the Centennial League Challenge mini-tournament and closed the regular season with a 4-0 performance at the Rangeview Tournament. Coach Morgan Garrow’s Eaglecrest team played 16 matches against teams that qualified for 5A regional play and finished with an 8-8 record in those matches. The Raptors have a trio of senior players who have amassed 132 or more kills on the season, with the pace set by senior OH Janna Preskorn (179), who is followed by OH Maddie Jones (155) and S/OH Claudia Rossi, who has 132 in addition to a team-high 388 assists (5.6 per set). Junior Alysse Marcoso leads Eaglecrest in service aces (36) and digs (345), senior MB Nikaia Lydia sets the pace in blocks (44) and senior S Sadie Lewis has racked up 181 assists. Last state tournament appearance: Made 5A state tournament in 2018 and went 4-2 and lost in semifinals.
PONDEROSA (28): The Mustangs — one of just five teams in the 5A regional field with a sub-.500 record at 8-14 — were the ninth-place team out of the Continental League and finished 1-3 at their own tournament to end the regular season. Coach Christine Stephan’s Ponderosa team played 16 matches against teams that made the 5A regional field and finished 2-14 in those matches. The Mustangs have a trio of players that have passed the 100-kill mark for the season, topped by senior MB Katherine Rank (161) — who is also the team lead with 68 blocks — followed by senior OH Kyli Lundquist (130) and sophomore MB/OH Alaina Douglass (106). Senior L/OH Morgan Carwin paces the team in service aces with 39, sophomore L Emerson Carwin has racked up a team-best 246 digs and senior S Kaitlyn Tuller has 527 assists (6.9 per set). Last state tournament appearance: Made 4A state tournament in 2018 and went 2-2.
REGION 9 SCHEDULE: No. 28 Ponderosa vs. No. 9 Fossil Ridge, noon; NO. 16 EAGLECREST vs. No. 28 Ponderosa, immed. following; NO. 16 EAGLECREST vs. No. 9 Fossil Ridge, immed. following
