Doherty setter enjoys rare win against CSCS

Vanessa Gemignani has a long memory. Whether it was scrimmages the past two years or a regular-season loss when she was a freshman, Gemignani still felt the hurt.
Her Doherty teammates helped erase that Saturday with a 3-0 sweep of Colorado Springs Christian School at the Spartans' gym.
"Beating them in three was special," said Gemignani, Doherty's senior setter who is a four-year starter. "This was a huge win for us. They always beat us. We expected CSCS to dominate, as they usually do."
CSCS has won the past four state championships in Class 3A. It's led by 6-foot-5 junior Morgan Broekhuis, the Gazette's reigning Player of the Year.
But it was the Spartans, with 10 seniors on their home floor, who refused to be outplayed. Co-favorites in 5A Metro along with Rampart, the Spartans beat CSCS 25-17, 25-23, 25-19.
"We really came together today," said senior Katie Schimpf, a co-captain along with Gemignani. "We talked a lot more, trusted each other and really worked together. We're really excited about this win. It's a big confidence boost."
Kendra Fiddler, a 6-foot senior, and 6-2 sophomore Taylor Simpson led Doherty (3-2) with 11 kills each. Broekhuis, also a setter, had 12 kills.
Schimpf played a year of club volleyball with Broekhuis and said, "I felt for people on the other side of the net from her. She's really talented and intimidating but if you get a kill or a block on her, it's really exciting."
Gemignani, who had 29 assists and 16 digs, shared the ball and the glory.
"Our front line played awesome," she said. "Our serve/receive and passing was phenomenal. Today was a lot of fun for us to play that well."
Doherty, No. 2 in the Pikes Peak rankings, lost a tough four-set match to No. 1 Cheyenne Mountain - the 2007 4A state runner up - and was swept Wednesday by 5A powerhouse Grandview.
"We had a long talk Thursday," Doherty coach Julie Ortiz said. "We weren't having fun or communicating. We bounced back big-time."
No. 5 CSCS (1-1) has four returning starters but is relatively inexperienced. Coach Mike Broekhuis used four juniors, four sophomores and a freshman.
"For our second game, we're ahead of last year," he said. "We hadn't been tested yet and our girls were tired of practicing. This will be good for us. Doherty played very good defense. We don't get tested in our league very often."
CSCS plays in the Eaglecrest tournament Saturday, where the Eagles were just 2-3 last year.