DENVER | The opening day of the Class 5A state volleyball tournament proved to be a bit anticlimactic for top-seeded Grandview.
The Wolves and fellow Pool I members Rampart and Castle View played once match each in the morning at Denver Coliseum and were finished for the day, with Grandview and eighth-seeded Rampart each posting quick victories.
Amped up for the state tournament, Grandview played up and down from an energy standpoint, but quickly dispatched the 12th-seeded SaberCats 25-17, 25-9, 25-14 to join Rampart — which also rolled 25-21, 25-17, 25-18 over Castle View — atop Pool 1. The teams meet in the second match of pool play on Saturday, at approximately 9:30 a.m., with the winner moving into the crossover semifinals later.
“It does feel a little weird to be done so soon; it’s nice in a lot of ways, but you get so ready to go and then it’s time to go home,” Childress said. “Tomorrow, it will be different.”
Childress and her team arrived early to get a look at Rampart, which had little trouble with a Castle View team that got into the state tournament by virtue of upsetting fourth-seeded Regis Jesuit in regionals.
A bit of trash talk from Rams junior setter August Raskie — a University of Oregon commitment like Grandview outside hitter junior Haley Mclaren — has the Wolves looking forward to their match.
“That sort of a fueled our fire a little bit,” said Childress, who said Raskie made some ‘bring it on’ gestures to Grandview while on the court.
“It will be interesting, (Raskie’s) one of those types of kids who can take over and dominate, so we have to be ready to neutralize her a little bit,” Childress added. “It should be a good match.”
Aurora’s two other state qualifiers — No. 6 Eaglecrest and No. 11 Cherokee Trail — had a much longer wait on the first day.
The Cougars, the only city team with two pool play matches scheduled for Friday, had to wait until the fifth match of the day to play Arapahoe and then turn around and play Doherty in the seventh match, right before Eaglecrest took the court for the first time in the capper against Pine Creek.
2013 CLASS 5A STATE VOLLEYBALL TOURNAMENT
Pool play (Friday at Denver Coliseum)
No. 8 Rampart def. No. 12 Castle View 25-21, 25-17, 25-18 (Pool I)
No. 5 Cherry Creek def. No. 9 Fruita Monument 25-12, 25-23, 25-12 (Pool IV)
NO. 1 GRANDVIEW def. No. 12 Castle View 25-17, 25-9, 25-14 (Pool I)
No. 4 Mountain Vista def. No. 9 Fruita Monument 23-25, 28-26, 25-15, 25-11 (Pool IV)
No. 2 Arapahoe def. NO. 11 CHEROKEE TRAIL 25-18, 23-25, 25-12, 25-22 (Pool II)
No. 3 Fossil Ridge def. No. 10 Pine Creek 25-23, 23-25, 20-25, 25-20, 15-11 (Pool III)
No. 7 Doherty def. NO. 11 CHEROKEE TRAIL 21-25, 24-26, 25-20, 25-20, 15-12 (Pool II)
NO. 6 EAGLECREST def. No. 10 Pine Creek 25-12, 26-28, 25-17, 25-16 (Pool III)
Courtney Oakes is Sports Editor of the Aurora Sentinel. Reach him at 303-750-7555 or sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. Facebook: Aurora Prep Sentinel.
Stay classy Grandview!