DENVER | The bad luck continued for Eaglecrest at the Class 5A state volleyball tournament, as an injury took out a standout player for the second time in three seasons.
Coach Tanya Bond’s second-seeded Raptors lost junior outside hitter Taylor Loyd to a knee injury during pool play on Friday and never got the chance to really find their rhythm, as they were eliminated from the tournament with a three-set loss to rival Grandview on Saturday at the Denver Coliseum.
The Raptors (21-5) lost standout Morgan Bohl to a torn ACL in the 2010 state tournament when they were the No. 1 seed and were eliminated in pool play and saw Loyd — who averaged a team-best 4.5 kills per set — go down during their five-set loss to 11th-seeded Heritage in this season’s pool play opener.
Bond said Loyd needs an MRI to find out what damage she sustained to her knee and the University of Denver recruit was unable to play when Eaglecrest faced Grandview for the third time this season, needing a win to force a three-way tie atop Pool II and keep their hopes alive to make the semifinals.
The Raptors had won the past two meetings with the Wolves, but without Loyd, they weren’t able to produce enough offense to keep up with the peaking Wolves, who finished off a 25-14, 25-21, 25-20 victory.
Reach Sports Editor Courtney Oakes at sports@aurorasentinel.com or 303-750-7555
