After 11 match points and a certain amount of nail biting among the fans, the Mountain Vista boys volleyball team won its first boys state volleyball title on May 11th.
The Golden Eagles (27-2) upset Fountain-Fort Carson 25-21, 25-23, 26-28, 30-28 at Overland High School. The Trojans finished with 26 wins and four losses.
“A lot of it was attitude,” said junior outside hitter Luke Colkett, who had a team-leading 18 kills. “We worked well as a team. We stayed focused and relaxed when we had to overcome.”
Dax Whitlen had 12 kills for Mountain Vista. Trevor Robinson added 10 points and an ace. Ethan Protz and Alex Gio Nicandro had seven kills for the Trojans side. Jonathan Rosan added three aces, and Nicandro and Tristan Maroney had two aces.
The fourth set wasn't all about nine match points for the Golden Eagles.
Fountain-Fort Carson led 11-2 before Mountain Vista mounted a comeback. A hitting error gave the Golden Eagles their first lead of the set. The lead increased to 24-19, and a series of match points began.
“It was a little too close for my liking,” said senior Reid Richardson, who finished with four kills. “We had to come out on top. “We knew that if we put all our effort into that one point, that one point would cascade to 25 and eventually to 30. It was a little stressful. So, I might have (grey hair) later tonight.”
“You have to keep the team together and take it one play at a time. Everyone has a common goal,” Colquette said. “It's hard to do. But like anything else, the more you practice, the easier it becomes.”
“Everyone on this team treats each other like brothers,” Richardson said. “We know how to come together. It was great to see us accomplish that and become state champions.”
Both teams were making their first appearance in the state finals. Richardson said the team “had a blast.”
“Last year I didn't have a very good ranking. The year before I didn't even qualify,” he said. “It's really amazing how far we've come with this program in such a short period of time. At the beginning of the season, we knew how strong we were as individuals, but not as a team. I was surprised at how well we gelled as the season progressed. I was surprised at how much we grew as a team.”
“At first I thought we were going to win state,” Colkett said. “I'm happy, but I don't know if I'm surprised or not.”
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Douglas County High School, Littleton Public Schools and Thornton High School sent teams to this year's tournament. Littleton's team was one win away from advancing to the finals, thanks in large part to the play of hitters Sean Jenn and Brady Wiggins.
Zheng, a senior, had 24 kills in the semifinal round loss to Fountain-Fort Carson on May 11. Zheng, a junior, had 18 kills and one ace in the five-set match. LPS finished with 24 wins and 6 losses.
Thornton (22-4) was the No. 2 seed in the tournament. In the repechage against Grandview High School on May 10, Braxton McGonigle led the Trojans with eight kills, and Brock Ellis added four and three aces. Elisha Tao also made three aces.
Douglas County (17-10) was the No. 8 seed in the tournament. Jensen Pascua had eight kills in a May 9 loss to Grandview, and Seth Dickerson added five kills.
