The Class 4A girls volleyball state quarterfinals Friday featured two teams very familiar with each other.

Only 2.7 miles separate the Palmer Ridge and Lewis-Palmer campuses in Monument, and they are bitter district foes. Both teams won on Thursday — the tournament’s first day — setting up a rematch of their regular-season meetings, both of which Palmer Ridge won.

For the third time of the year, the Bears prevailed. No. 1 Palmer Ridge won 3-0 (25-23, 25-17, 25-21) to advance to the third day of competition.

“It just feels good to win against our rivals,” sophomore outside hitter Amelia Hansen said.

While Palmer Ridge won all three sets, the Bears didn’t run away with any of them.

The teams traded point for point in the early going with several lead changes along the way. Palmer Ridge and Lewis Palmer were tied 23-23 in set one before the Bears won two points in a row to take the first set point.

Although Palmer Ridge coach Erica Bradley called it a “slow start,” the Bears found a way to take an early 1-0 lead, thanks largely to positivity from the bench.

“I think we’re such a deep team,” Hansen said. “We have so many girls that can step in and take that role. We have a very deep bench, and they bring the energy.”

Set two was the most lopsided, as Palmer Ridge won 25-17. The Bears took an early lead in that game and never gave it up.

The third set started similar to set one, as the teams were tied 13-13 midway through it. But Palmer Ridge caught fire after a timeout and sealed its three-set victory.

“We have a great group of leaders,” Bradley said. “It’s exciting to see the team take over.”

Lewis-Palmer coach Alexa Strube felt like her team played a complete game despite the outcome.

“I’m super proud of what our girls are doing,” Strube said. “They played confidently against the No. 1 team in the state right now. I’m proud of the things we were doing on the other side.

Lewis-Palmer, which entered the tournament as the No. 8 seed, now falls into the elimination bracket. The Rangers will battle the winner of Niwot and Discovery Canyon at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday.

What makes Lewis-Palmer’s run even more impressive is that many of the Rangers’ key players are underclassmen. Regardless of how many more games they win in the tournament, Strube is excited for her young players to get postseason experience.

“We always talk about how it takes every one of these girls to win a match,” Strube said. “The fact that we have a lot of young talent and three years to come, hopefully we’ll have that.”

As for Palmer Ridge, the Bears are 25-2. Those wins include three against Lewis-Palmer.

Palmer Ridge players and coaches know those wins aren’t just three victories against a very good volleyball team. They’re three wins over their cross-town rivals.

“It’s a pretty important match every time we see them,” Bradley said. “They have a strong team, strong history, and it’s the cross-town rivalry that gets the team super pumped up. We always welcome the challenge and I think the girls just go in with the right mindset and are dead set on taking care of business.”

Palmer Ridge’s semifinal opponent is to be determined.

No matter who the Bears face on Saturday, Bradley’s advice to her players is simple: Rest and get your head right.

“The mindset piece is crucial,” Bradley said. “There’s a lot of down time, so I think resting and watching some of the teams and focusing on things we’ve seen as our weaknesses, try to get those fixed.

“I don’t think we’ve played our best volleyball yet, so I think we’re really looking forward to that.”

Contact the writer: carson.field@gazettedev.gazette.com