GREELEY | If the summer is any indication, the Cherokee Trail volleyball team is primed for a big fall season.
On Saturday, the Cougars — who qualified for the Class 5A state volleyball tournament last season for the first time — claimed the Division I championship of the University of Northern Colorado tournament.
Coach Terry Miller’s Cherokee Trail team finished atop a field of 80 teams competing in the Division I classification. The three-day tournament included 180 teams from eight states competing in a variety of classifications.
The Cougars finished second at the UNC tournament last summer and spent most of the season ranked in 5A’s top 10 before advancing to the state tournament for the first time since moving up to the top classification in 2007.
Cherokee Trail lost to Legend and Chaparral at the 5A state tournament to bring an end to a 19-8 campaign.
In the week before the UNC tournament, the Cougars defeated host and Centennial League rival Cherry Creek in the championship match to win the Cherry Creek Midsummer Tournament.
Miller’s summer roster consists of Iowa State commitment Nikki Berta, Sidney Wicks, Shannon Webb, Morgan Welsh, Azlyn Cassaday, Kristina Schell, Javonn Linnear, Mehana Fonseca and Crystal Powell, who didn’t play in the Cherry Creek tournament.
Practice for the 2013-14 fall season begins on Aug. 12 and the regular season opens Aug. 29.
Reach Sports Editor Courtney Oakes at sports@aurorasentinel.com or 303-750-7555
