DENVER – Area teams began their bids Thursday to capture a state volleyball title in their respective classes during the three-day tournament.

Pine Creek, Lewis-Palmer, Cheyenne Mountain, Palmer Ridge, Village and Colorado Springs Christian all competed at Denver Coliseum in opening-day action.

Here’s how they managed against the competition:

Village earns school’s first-ever state tournament win

As the Mountaineers exited the court after their 25-16, 25-11, 25-19 sweep of No. 6 Lamar in the 3A second-round match, players looked … cavalier.

Village, the No. 3 seed, advanced to the third round where the Mountaineers face No. 2 Platte Valley at 3:30 p.m. on Friday.

Their goal is the 6 p.m. match on Saturday, which would be the school’s first championship contest.

Coach Shannon Baker said players aren’t looking ahead, but Village athletes understand they didn’t travel to Denver just for one state tournament victory.

“We’re going one game at a time and one match at a time, but we do have an end goal,” Baker said. “We do a little celebrating, then we go back to business. We stayed and watched the match after ours to have a good scouting report so we can take care of business. We have a bigger goal than winning the second round.”

Cheyenne Mountain ekes out five-set victory

As Anna Blamires watched the final Palisade shot sail out of bounds in the second round, she felt pride in herself and her teammates.

Cheyenne Mountain, 4A’s No. 6 seed, earned a 23-25, 25-13, 23-25, 25-23, 15-13 win over Palisade to earn a spot in the third round against No. 2 Lewis Palmer at 3:30 p.m. Friday.

“We came together and that includes our bench,” Blamires said. “It was our back row, our front row. We all worked together and this wasn’t just one person. After we won the fourth set, in the fifth set, we said we were getting it done.”

The Red-Tailed Hawks won two of their three sets by two points. Their victory in the second round also helped Cheyenne Mountain move to 3-0 in five-set matches this season.

“We knew we had it,” Blamires said. “We were so much more energized than them … and our team came together and trusted each other.”

Colorado Springs Christian advances to third round

As players hushed to listen to coach Lori Currier’s speech, she continually used the word “proud.”

Abigail Perry echoed her coach’s sentiments after the Lions, 2A’s No. 5 seed, earned a 3-1 victory against No. 12 Sanford in the opener and a sweep against No. 4 Swink in the second. The Lions face No. 1 Simla at 2 p.m. Friday.

“I’m so proud of my team,” Abigail Perry said. “This year we’ve gotten so much better and we’ve learned how to persevere through adversity. Even if we lose a couple of points, we’re like, ‘OK. We can come back.’”

In the first round against Sanford, the Lions took a 2-0 lead before they dropped the third set. Last year at the state tournament, the Lions won their first two sets before dropping the following three in the first round.

This is not 2023.

“When they took that set on us, we were like, ‘Never again!’” Perry said. “We’re going to execute and this is not going to be a repeat. We’re going to play our best for Him and for our team.”

Jordyn Rollins said the Lions “have vastly improved” from last season and understand how to respond to mishaps.

“When we face adversity now, we respond with a kill or an ace,” Rollins said. “We don’t let up and we put the ball away when adversity comes our way.”

Lewis-Palmer survives University’s rally

As long as Lewis-Palmer arrived at its destination of the third round, that’s all that matters.

After building a 2-0 set lead against the No. 10 Bulldogs, the No. 2 Rangers needed a fifth set to earn a 25-21, 25-14, 19-25, 21-25, 15-9 victory.

The Rangers will face Cheyenne Mountain at 3:30 p.m. Friday in the third-round match.

“You get here and you say, ‘We have to win,’” coach Don Lash said. “That’s not us. We’re here to play, to get better and to take care of each other. And we lost that for a bit and it showed.”

Lewis-Palmer trailed by as much as 10 in the fourth set, but after taking an 11-5 lead in the fifth, the Rangers never looked back.

“Our leaders took charge,” Lash said. “We stopped doing silly things we were doing in the early sets. … It’s good that we found out that we can regroup and come back and play how we’re supposed to play.”

Pine Creek goes 1-1 after five-set loss in second round

After dropping the first set to the Golden Eagles, Pine Creek won two in a row and nearly took the third.

But Mountain Vista, the No. 3 seed in 5A, staved off the upset and upended the Eagles 25-16, 21-25, 18-25, 25-21, 15-12.

The Eagles did earn a 3-0 victory in the opening round of the tournament against No. 11 Cherokee Trail and beat the Cougars 25-16, 25-8, 25-14.

After the second-round loss, Pine Creek, the No. 6 seed, dropped to the contenders bracket and will face No. 12 Loveland at 12:30 p.m. Friday.

Palmer Ridge drops opening match

During the 2023 4A semifinals, the Bears dispatched the Red-Tailed Hawks in three sets and thwarted Cheyenne Mountain’s bid for their first volleyball state championship since 2015 and first title game appearance since 2021.

On Thursday, the defending state champs managed to avoid a sweep against Cheyenne Mountain, but the Red-Tailed Hawks sent the Bears to the contenders bracket.

Palmer Ridge, the No. 11 seed, lost in four sets to Cheyenne Mountain 25-22, 25-18, 20-25, 25-18.

The Bears will play Friday at 8 a.m. against No. 4 Battle Mountain. Whichever team drops the match will be eliminated.