DENVER – To secure the first title in school history, Village volleyball players had to accomplish a task they hadn’t faced all season.

A fifth-set victory. In the volleyball season finale, no less.

It took the entire Village, but the Mountaineers overcame a 2-0 deficit and beat the two-seed Platte Valley 20-25, 21-25, 32-30, 25-17, 17-15 at Denver Coliseum in the 3A state girls volleyball tournament Saturday.

“It feels amazing. These girls fought for this program because they knew what we could accomplish,” Village coach Shannon Baker said. “They built our culture and work hard every day. They did this themselves.”

Village, an Academy District 20 charter school which played its inaugural season of sports this year, cobbled together a schedule last spring compiled of whatever team had an opening to compete against them.

In August, Baker said piecing together the schedule was “one of the more difficult things I had to do.” Now, Baker is grateful to have endured the challenge.

“It was worth it,” Baker said. “We had to build our own schedule and program and we’re fighting rumors that we recruit kids to go to this school. What people don’t realize is that these kids have been at Village for four years and they deserve this. We did this for Village and that’s all that mattered.”

After a romp through the regular season and regional tournament, the No. 3-seeded Mountaineers built a 22-3 record and, after their win against Platte Valley in the title game, have not lost to a Colorado team since Aug. 30, a 2-0 defeat against 5A Cherry Creek.

The Mountaineers entered state having lost just 10 sets all season. In the title game, however, Village fell into a 2-0 hole against the Broncos.

“We all just had to stay relaxed and not freak out,” Olivia Plentl said. “We had to trust each other to make plays and trust Shannon’s coaching and our playing to make it happen.”

Village built a 17-9 advantage in the third, but the Broncos eventually built a 23-22 lead and forced the Mountaineers to call a timeout.

The Mountaineers outscored the Broncos 10-7 for the remainder of the third set to remain alive in the match. After earning an eight-point win in the fourth, Mountaineers players smelled blood.

“We pushed through and made plays,” Lillian Edwards said. “We were able to use our training in those clutch moments and pass, serve-receive balls and we stepped up and kept supporting each other.”

Edwards sprained her left ankle during last week’s 3A region-3 tournament and saw limited action in the opening state match and played as a libero.

The Mountaineers senior returned to her position as outside hitter the remainder of the tournament and notched several key kills in the fifth, including one that forced the Broncos to use a timeout as Village cut the Platte Valley lead to 8-7.

After Village built an 11-9 lead, Platte Valley went on a 5-2 run to take a 14-13 advantage in the fifth. But the Mountaineers held the Broncos in check for the remainder of the match and outscored the No. 2 seed 4-1 to win the championship.

“It feels so amazing. And I think overcoming injuries and adversity and all the push we had to do with CHSAA to have a team is so good,” Edwards said. “To be able to go out here and prove ourselves and show everyone how good we are and how hard we can work is such an amazing accomplishment. I’m so proud of us.”

Typically, the Mountaineers win the first few sets rather than the final three. Prior to Saturday’s match, Village had won 19 of its matches via a sweep.

“It was one point at a time and being into every single moment,” Baker said. “We’ve been challenged before. It’s not the first time that we’ve gone to additional sets. They were prepared for it. They had a goal in mind and they knew they were going to accomplish it and they did it.”

Pikes Peak region semifinals results

5A: No. 2 Valor Christian 3, No. 6 Pine Creek 1 (25-16, 32-30, 16-25, 25-19)

The Eagles had the two-time defend state champs on the ropes in the second set, but Valor Christian held firm in the set. Pine Creek finished the year 26-5 for back-back seasons with 25-plus wins.

4A: No. 8 Lutheran 3, No. 6 Cheyenne Mountain 2 (16-25, 25-17, 25-22, 19-25, 16-14)

Cheyenne Mountain once again took its opponent to a five-set match, but this time, the Red-Tailed Hawks couldn’t complete the comeback. Cheyenne Mountain fell two points shy of their first spot in the title match since 2021.

2A: No. 2 Sedgwick County 3, No. 5 Colorado Springs Christian 0 (25-12, 25-20, 31-29)

Just one season after going 0-2 at the state tournament, the Lions won three games and advanced to the semifinals. CSCS’s rally fell shy in the final set against Sedgwick County and the Lions fell to 24-6 for the season.