Indians, Rangers in contention

DENVER - Jill Tooma was bubbling with confidence after helping Cheyenne Mountain rally to beat defending champion Battle Mountain in the Class 4A state tournament at the Denver Coliseum on Friday.

“We feel like this is our year,” the senior said. “I told everybody to be here at 7 o’clock tomorrow.”

That’s when the championship match is scheduled. Cheyenne Mountain (26-2), the No. 2 seed, already earned a berth in the semifinals by winning its first two matches. The top two teams in each pool advance to the semifinals.

The Indians beat No. 7 Cherokee Trail 25-17, 25-22, 25-22 and came from behind to top No. 6 Battle Mountain 22-25, 25-17, 25-27, 25-22, 15-12.

It was satisfying to avenge last year’s semifinal loss to Battle Mountain, said Tooma.

“It’s so sweet. It feels great to beat them,” she said. “That team is a well-oiled machine. Serving got us through this one, and that’s not usually the case.”

The No. 1 seed in 4A, Berthoud (26-2), lost twice. Previously unbeaten, Berthoud won’t advance to the semifinals after losing to No. 8 Longmont and No. 5 Mountain View.

In 5A pool play, Lewis-Palmer, seeded No. 2, seemingly had a semifinal berth secured but lost a lead against No. 6 Highlands Ranch. The Rangers fell 26-24, 22-25, 17-25, 25-22, 15-10.

Rangers senior setter Natalie Laband missed just over half of Game 5 due to dizziness after hitting her head.

“We got distracted when Natalie went out,” said senior Ariana Filho.

The Rangers can earn a semifinal berth today by beating defending champ Eaglecrest (26-2), the No. 3 seed.

In its first match, Lewis-Palmer rallied from down 0-2 to beat No. 7 Columbine 17-25, 19-25, 25-20, 25-23, 17-15. In Game 5, Columbine had a pair of match points but the Rangers — who trailed 14-12 — won three straight points and five of the last six to prevail.

“We knew we had a really tough pool,” said coach Susan Odenbaugh. “The decisive factor was who was not going to make the most unforced errors.”

Also in 5A, No. 5 Pine Creek (21-7) won’t reach the semis. The Eagles fell to No. 4 Cherry Creek 25-12, 25-14, 21-25, 25-16 but then gave No. 1 Grandview all it could handle before falling 25-22, 30-28, 20-25, 28-26.

“We played with a lot of heart and desire. Grandview just out played us,” said Pine Creek coach Paul Waring. “Our seniors held it together for us this year. They’ve had a great season.”