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4A volleyball: Back-to-back titles for Cheyenne Mountain
Comments 0 | Recommend 0Maybe the first title is the hardest, but the second is just as satisfying.
Cheyenne Mountain won its second straight Class 4A state championship Saturday, completing an unbeaten season in the process.
Check out photos from the final day of the state tournament.
“Last year was special because we built up to that and finally did so good we got one,” coach David Barkley said. “This one, I think we felt more pressure to go get it. This year, people were gunning for us so it was even harder.”
Behind Kendall Gaffney’s game-high 13 kills, the top-seeded Indians (31-0) beat No. 5 Lewis-Palmer 25-13, 25-17, 25-21. The victory was Cheyenne Mountain’s third over the Rangers this season and second this weekend.
The Indians’ hitters seemed to take turns playing key roles in the state tournament, and it was Gaffney’s match Saturday night. She had four kills and a block in the first game, and one of her kills in the second sparked a five-point run to bring her team to the cusp of a championship. She capped her night with kills on two of the last four points of the match.
For Gaffney, the second title wasn’t a given.
“We had no idea going into any of this,” she said. “We had our goals of winning district and then going on to the state championship. We achieved all of them.”
Lewis-Palmer (23-8) hadn’t been to the finals since its last championship in 2002. For coach Susan Odenbaugh, a trip to the championship match was an afterthought. She was just hoping to get to the semifinals.
“When we saw what pool we were in, we thought we had a legitimate chance of coming in second in our pool,” Odenbaugh said. “To get to the championship game, and to beat (No. 2) Mullen to do it, was just incredible. This was icing on the cake.”
Indians senior Megan Molner had seven kills and sophomore Janae Vander Ploeg added six. Molner, Gaffney and five of their teammates will graduate state champions.
“It was my senior season, so it was a lot of fun to have a state championship,” Gaffney said. “I love this team.”
Road to the state title
Indians dominate district tournament
Indians cruise in Day 1 at state
Season in pictures
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