To boldly go where no Stargate Volleyball has gone before the Eagles will have to wait another year. At the very least and they have Bayfield to thank.
Squeaking out a 25-23 win in the fourth set of the SHS-hosted 3A-Region X tournament, pushed back to Sunday afternoon due to Colorado’s first true snowstorm of the upcoming winter, up in Thornton, the Wolverines secured a 3-1 victory advancing them into the upcoming 2024 CHSAA State Championships.
After not even qualifying for regionals last fall, it will be BHS’ first state berth since 2021, when that season’s squad went 3-2 during three wild days inside The Broadmoor World Arena in Colorado Springs. This year’s Nov. 14-16 spectacle will take place inside the Denver Coliseum, and after being reseeded 11th in the 12-team bracket, Bayfield will next battle No. 6 Lamar on Day One, no earlier than 11 a.m.
Tops in the Tri-Peaks League during regular season play with a 12-0 mark, LHS improved to 23-2 overall by sweeping both Denver Science & Tech: Montview (14-10) and Windsor Charter Academy in the Region VI tournament. Only WCA (15-10) managed to even score 20 points in any one set inside the Lamar Community Building versus the Thunder.
The Bayfield-Lamar winner will then meet Colorado Springs-based No. 3 Village at about 5 p.m.; the BHS-LHS loser will look to stay alive at 8 a.m. Friday against the loser of Thursday’s Alamosa-versus-Gunnison/Centauri match.
HOW’D WE GET HERE: Seeded 15th in the state tournament’s opening round of 36, Bayfield first knocked off Denver-based No. 27 Colorado Academy 25-14, 25-10, 25-20 – eliminating the Lady Mustangs.
Against 10-seed SHS, Bayfield began with a 25-20 win but then let Stargate back into the fight with a 23-25 loss in set two. Bouncing back with a vengeance, the Wolverines owned set three by a 25-9 margin, putting the home team into go-for-broke mode. The Eagles finished the season standing a program-best 20-5 overall.
