Multicolored balloons adorned the Rampart gym to represent a new tradition for District 20.

In the inaugural “D-20 game” between Discovery Canyon and Rampart boys volleyball, the Rams dominated from start to finish to sweep the Thunder in three sets (25-18, 25-16, 25-19) on Thursday.

The D-20 matchup comes two years after the district was split into two teams, with Pine Creek, Liberty and Rampart players playing for the Rams and those from The Classical Academy, Air Academy and Discovery Canyon representing the Thunder. Players from District 38 schools Palmer Ridge and Lewis-Palmer, which don’t have boys teams, play for Discovery Canyon. 

Thursday’s win improved Rampart’s record to 12-1 (8-0 league), with its only loss being to Valor Christian in an early-season tournament, and broke Discovery Canyon’s five-match undefeated streak.

Rampart came out with a statement 25-18 win in the first set, which it led by as many as 12 points. Discovery Canyon stayed close for much of the second set, but the Rams pulled away late to take it 25-16. They continued their momentum to lead the entire third set and edge out the Thunder 25-19. 

“We came out really strong,” Rampart coach Marc Phillips said. “They know a lot of the DCC boys, so a lot of competitive juices were flowing, but our players came out strong and set the tone for the rest.” 

The night was highlighted by Rampart junior Dylan Paurus recording his 1,000th career assist in the second set. It’s Paurus’ second season at Rampart after playing for Discovery Canyon during his freshman year, before the district was split. It was his fifth year playing the sport overall. 

Paurus has 1,015 career assists after Thursday. When he reached 1,000, the Rampart student section erupted in cheers and held up golden balloon numbers that read “1,000” and a handmade sign congratulating him. 

“It was amazing. I never thought I would come this far,” Paurus said. “This is such a great feeling. I had no idea they would do this celebration and stuff. This is our best win so far; it feels good to win. I can’t describe how it feels.”

“He never misses a set,” Rampart sophomore Aven Fedde said of Paurus. “You can always depend on him to have a great set and run the offense.”

Despite its roster coming from several different schools, building team chemistry has not been a challenge for the Rams. In fact, several already knew each other from playing together on Team Colorado Volleyball in the offseason. 

With it being the last game before spring break, Phillips expects the win to set the tone for the second half of the season. After falling at regionals last year, the Rams are hungry for more.

“Last year was the first year as a team, so there were no expectations,” Phillips said. “We were able to make it to regionals and want to build off last year and build a foundation. We talk about ‘making it happen,’ and we will put in the time to make it happen for each other.”