Lewis-Palmer relishes state experience as final three locals fall in semifinals on state volleyball's final day
Nov. 12—Alexa Strube didn't know what to expect when she re-entered the gym and auxiliary gym of Lewis-Palmer.
It's the first time the former standout Rangers' champion has coached a volleyball team. The parallels between the two exist, but she was learning on the job, thanks in part to assistant, and long-time high school coach Don Lash.
Freshman Madi Crowe was in the same situation, in many ways.
She'd never been to a state tournament as a player. Club tournaments are a litmus test, but aren't the same as CHSAA state volleyball's final day.
However, Lewis-Palmer fell on Saturday to Thompson Valley, 3-0, in the semifinals to end its run. This after the Rangers lost to Palmer Ridge Friday, and were forced to win out if they wanted a state title.
"We learned so much as a group," Strube said. "A lot of things translate from being a player, but we learned a ton and I still have more to learn.
"This whole team will benefit from being in this atmosphere and being exposed to it. Every year you make it will help in the future."
Crowe finished alongside junior Kiley Gennerman as the team's top-two hitters in kills, and both will return next year. Four seniors, including Amya Speller, will exit, but those who remain will be better prepared the next time the orange and black Rangers' jerseys scatter on a volleyball court.
"This year just really helped my mental game," Crowe said. "All of us girls have made a huge impact on one another, and we've worked really hard. This was a great opportunity."
Rampart falls a match short of title game against top seed
The first set was the best volleyball Rampart has played all year.
Valor Christian stood as the second leg of a daunting Denver tandem after the Rams beat Cherry Creek to reach the 5A semifinal. They weren't able to come through the second time, and fell to the Eagles in four sets, 3-1.
In a similar four set match, the Rams upended Cherry Creek to start the day — the contest tipping off at 8 a.m. on Saturday.
For the first semifinal set, though, Rampart was exactly what coach Bri Perkett and company have imagined all season, just a day after her team put up its best, full-match effort against Fossil Ridge in a sweep.
"We had a little bit of everything in this tournament," Perkett said. "We kept saying that a different path didn't change our destination of a state title.
"That first set, and three sets against Fossil Ridge yesterday, were the best volleyball we played all year. We just came up a little short."
In each of the subsequent three sets, the Rams were forced to battle from behind after early deficits.
The aggression for Rampart turned to timidness once Valor Christian began to find a groove. Perkett argues that sometimes your biggest obstacle in an upset is mental.
"With Valor, it's a mental game because people are afraid of them," Perkett said. "We came in just as strong, and just as big, but it was about not letting our minds get the best of us. They're a great team, but we lost the mental war."
Palmer Ridge, on brink of final, falls to Windsor
Only three points separated Palmer Ridge from a spot in the 4A finals with a spotless record in the tournament.
A 10-1 run by Windsor to retake the third set foreshadowed the Bears' five-set, 3-2 loss to the Wizards on Saturday in the 4A state semis.
As the points slipped away, Palmer Ridge began to make uncharacteristic mistakes — a missed dig on one volley, and a clear hitting lane for Windsor on the next. Once the top seed began to slip, it was eerily remnant of last year's five-set fall to Cheyenne Mountain in the semifinals.
Junior Corrie Anderson racked up 38 kills in the loss, and added to the total in the fifth set, nearly winning the match for the Bears.
She'll return next year alongside juniors Eva LaRochelle, Emily Klahn and Amelia Hansen, among others.
All coach Erica Bradley and her roster have in mind is making sure another title makes it to Palmer Ridge volleyball — 2020 feels like too long ago.
