DENVER – After dropping the first two sets to Lewis-Palmer, there wasn’t enough energy on the Cheyenne Mountain bench to power a toaster oven.

Of all the things that had gone against the Red-Tailed Hawks to that point, the lack of energy was perhaps the most egregious. Heading into the third set, coach Ellen Cross decided to address the biggest issue and hope the rest took care of itself.

“I pulled Anna (Blamires), Kena (Parthen) and Landry (Roberts) aside,” Cross said. “They’ve been our pulse all year and I told them that I need you to go be you. I need the goofiness, I need the celebrations, I need you to be you.”

Three sets later, the Hawks were acting goofy and definitely celebrating after battling back to get a 18-25, 19-25, 25-20, 25-15, 15-10 reverse sweep victory over their Pikes Peak Athletic Conference rival.

It was the energy that sparked the turnaround in play. Uncharacteristic blocking and hitting errors from Parthen turned into genuine blocks and devastating kills. Add in big swings from Blamires and Roberts and the Red-Tailed Hawks (20-8 overall) were in control from the start of the third set on.

“We know that no matter what happens with Cheyenne Mountain volleyball, our energy is our game,” Roberts said. “We knew going into the third set that screaming like every point was championship point for us. We went out and played our butts off.”

The mood heading into the fifth set was a stark contrast from where it had been at the start of the third. A Roberts kill solidified the win of the fourth set, erasing the uncertainty and doubt that had taken over the Cheyenne Mountain bench in the early stages of the match.

“We had to change something,” Blamires said. “Our captains had to be fierce leaders out there.”

The biggest change was taking a breath and slowing the game down on their end. When they were trying to force their hits through blocks or playing the lines too close, the Hawks were committing errors that were putting them in early holes.

Once composure set in, they found their offensive rhythm which allowed the hitters to take bigger swings at more opportune times.

“We had to slow down that first contact and give time to the setter to get to the ball,” Roberts said. “We had to have better communication, and we know that tipping is not going to beat a good team. It’s about power.”

This was the second match in a row where the Rangers (20-7) had built a 2-0 lead only to let their opponents battle back. They fended off University in the late hours at the Coliseum on Thursday, but weren’t fortunate enough to hold off a comeback on Friday.

Both teams came into the match without a loss, so they’ll both return to the Denver Coliseum on Saturday. Cheyenne Mountain is in the Class 4A semifinals while Lewis-Palmer has more work to do.

“We just have to regroup ourselves,” Lash said. “There are skill issues, but it’s our team issues. And we were good, we were really good. I’m proud of what we did as a team. But when we go home and thinking about the little things that happen, we just have to regroup tomorrow morning and get that team piece back on track.”

Lewis-Palmer avoided a district rival elimination game as Windsor handed Palmer Ridge a 25-14, 16-25, 25-21, 25-20 loss to end the Bears’ season. L-P will face Windsor on Saturday morning and the winner will advance to play Thompson Valley in the semifinals.

The Village advances to the 3A semifinals

In its first year of play, the Village is one win away from advancing to the 3A state championship match. The Mountaineers swept Platte Valley 25-22, 25-22 25-19 on Friday night. The Village will play in the second semifinal game which is scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday at the Denver Coliseum.

Addi Miller and Erika Sayer each had 10 kills in the win.

Colorado Springs Christian is still alive in 2A

CSCS was swept by 2A No. 1 Simla 25-23, 25-18, 25-19 on Friday. The Lions are still alive in the state tournament and will face the winner of Del Norte and Lyons for a chance to get into the semifinals.