Four Aurora volleyball teams entertain hopes of making it down to the Class 5A state tournament at the Denver Coliseum by earning their way into the 32-team regional field set for Nov. 7.
Centennial League champion Cherokee Trail leads the way with the No. 3 overall seed, which allows it to play host to a regional tournament. No. 8 Grandview, the two-time defending 5A state champion, also gets to take its crack at state qualifying on its home floor.
Regis Jesuit and Rangeview, seeded No. 18 and No. 24 respectively, both travel and must knock off higher-seeded host teams to qualify for the state tournament.
The winner of each of the 12 three-team regional tournaments earns a spot in the 5A state tournament Nov. 13-14.
Coach Terry Miller’s Cherokee Trail team has gone through a taxing season that began with the passing of well-liked Celeste James and also included a devastating season-ending knee injury to senior standout Amazing Ashby.
Despite the losses, the Cougars have banded together and have shown the characteristics of a champion.
“I’ll be honest, when those two things happened, I told everybody we’ll be lucky to go .500,’” Miller said after his team’s four-set win over Arapahoe that clinched the Centennial League championship.
“Coming back from stuff like that, you just never know how strong you are going to be. They are teenagers and it’s hard to tell how they are going to be able to come back, but the resiliency and character they’ve shown is amazing … I’ve been coaching for almost 20 years and I’ve never seen anything like it.”
Galvanized emotionally and with their focus solely on the next match in front of them, the Cougars are on a mission to make the state tournament.
They played the top seed in regionals, Chatfield, twice in the last week of the season and though they lost both times, they took the Chargers to five sets in the Ponderosa Classic championship match Oct. 31.
No. 22 Fossil Ridge and No. 34 Douglas County are in Cherokee Trail’s Region 3, which opens at 10 a.m. The Cougars swept the Huskies on Oct. 30, but haven’t faced Fossil Ridge this season.
Grandview is an entirely different team than the group that won the past two state titles, but the Wolves have surged in the past few weeks and would like to send retiring coach Patty Childress out on top.
With seven wins in its last nine matches, Grandview seems to be putting things together at the right time of the season.
The Wolves open Region 8 play at 9 a.m. against No. 29 Fort Collins, which it hasn’t played this season. Grandview also hasn’t faced the other team in its group, No. 17 Prairie View.
Regis Jesuit lost six of seven matches in the middle of the season, but coach Laura Dunston’s group has gone 5-3 against a quality group of opponents since then.
The Raiders knocked off Cherry Creek during the Legend Tournament to gain a bit of confidence going into the Region 7 tournament at Rocky Mountain. The Raiders first play No. 30 Liberty at noon, followed by a 2 p.m. match against seventh-seeded Rocky Mountain, which beat them in three close sets at the Legend Tournament.
Rangeview won the EMAC championship via tiebreaker out of a three-way deadlock with Brighton and Prairie View, but a 1-3 showing at the Raiders’ own season-ending tournament affected their seeding and dropped them behind both the ThunderHawks (No. 17) and Bulldogs (No. 19).
As the No. 24 seed, coach Doug Walker’s Rangeview team — which came just a few points short of making state last season — ended up in Region 1 along with top-seeded Chatfield. The Raiders meet No. 36 Fruita Monument in their first match and then take on the Chargers.
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at 303-750-7555 or sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. FB: Aurora Prep Sentinel
2015 AURORA CLASS 5A VOLLEYBALL REGIONALS
REGION 1 (at Chatfield H.S.)
Teams: No. 1 Chatfield, NO. 24 RANGEVIEW, No. 36 Fruita Monument
Schedule: No. 36 Fruita Monument vs. No. 1 Chatfield, 2 p.m.; No. 36 Fruita Monument vs. NO. 24 RANGEVIEW, 3:30 p.m.; NO. 24 RANGEVIEW vs. No. 1 Chatfield, 5 p.m.
REGION 3 (AT CHEROKEE TRAIL H.S.)
Teams: NO. 3 CHEROKEE TRAIL, No. 22 Fossil Ridge, No. 34 Douglas County
Schedule: No. 34 Douglas County vs. NO. 3 CHEROKEE TRAIL, 10 a.m.; No. 34 Douglas County vs. No. 22 Fossil Ridge, 11:30 a.m.; No. 22 Fossil Ridge vs. NO. 3 CHEROKEE TRAIL, 1 p.m.
REGION 7 (at Rocky Mountain H.S.)
Teams: No. 7 Rocky Mountain, NO. 18 REGIS JESUIT, No. 30 Liberty
Schedule: No. 30 Liberty vs. No. 7 Rocky Mountain, 10 a.m.; No. 30 Liberty vs. NO. 18 REGIS JESUIT, noon; NO. 18 REGIS JESUIT vs. No. 7 Rocky Mountain, 2 p.m.
REGION 8 (AT GRANDVIEW H.S.)
Teams: NO. 8 GRANDVIEW, No. 17 Prairie View, No. 29 Fort Collins
Schedule: No. 29 Fort Collins vs. NO. 8 GRANDVIEW, 9 a.m.; No. 29 Fort Collins vs. No. 17 Prairie View, 11 a.m.; No. 17 Prairie View vs. NO. 8 GRANDVIEW, 1 p.m.
