DENVER – Some losses offer the chance to learn lessons, and Shannon Baker felt Village’s third round defeat Friday was a chance to reset.

The Mountaineers coach composed demeanor remained after No. 12 Village lost in four sets to 3A’s top seed Alamosa 25-22, 23-25, 25-23, 25-11 at Denver Coliseum at the state girls volleyball tournament.

Village fell to the elimination bracket’s third round and will face No. 2 Resurrection Christian at 9:30 a.m. Saturday.

“I think a little humbling is always OK,” Baker said. “A dose of seeing that we’re not unbeatable is fine because all we need to do is reset. I’m not worried and I know we’ll be OK.”

With the defeat, Village (20-8) lost its seven-match winning streak and the Mountaineers dropped their first-ever state tournament contest.

The Mountaineers went undefeated at state in 2024 en route to the school’s first title and followed with two sweeps in Thursday’s opening rounds. Baker said the Mean Moose (26-1) presented tenacity that the Mountaineers hadn’t faced in 3A this year.

“We played really hard for three sets and that took the gas out of us,” Baker said. “We’ll bounce back and we just need to learn to recover. We took losses late in the season and bounced back.”

Baker referred to the Mountaineers’ last regular season loss, which came Oct. 7 to 4A Montrose where the Mountaineers lost 3-0 and dropped sets two and three 29-27. Village only lost three sets during its seven-match win streak and expects to replicate that recovery Saturday.

“This will amp up what we’re willing to do and our level of focus,” Baker said. “I think we got a little complacent and that kind of pressure on our backs is going to be helpful (Saturday).”

Rampart loses to No. 1 Fossil Ridge, falls to 5A elimination bracket’s third round

The Rams’ domination at the state tournament ended with a 3-1 loss (25-20, 24-26, 25-10, 25-21) to the SaberCats.

But Rampart’s title hopes remain alive.

The fifth-seeded Rams lost their seven-match winning streak in the third round and will shift their focus to Saturday’s elimination bracket. The Rams will play No. 5 Chaparral at 9:30 a.m. and look to advance to the semifinals.

Should Rampart (25-3) survive the elimination bracket, the Rams would play in the 2 p.m. semifinals.

Cheyenne Mountain goes 1-2 at state, eliminated by Lewis-Palmer

The Rangers defeated the Red-Tailed Hawks for the fourth consecutive time this season and Friday’s win sent Cheyenne Mountain home.

Cheyenne Mountain fell 25-14, 25-17, 25-21 to Lewis-Palmer and lost in 4A’s elimination bracket’s first round. The Red-Tailed Hawks fell to the elimination bracket after a narrow defeat in the second round Thursday in the winner’s bracket to No. 3 University, which won the fifth set 15-13.

The No. 11-seeded Red-Tailed Hawks ended the year 16-11.

Evangel Christian Academy ends tournament 0-2, loses to No. 10 Prairie in four sets

ECA’s second and final tournament set win came in the third when the Eagles won 25-22, but the Mustangs eked past the Eagles in three of the four sets to earn the victory and eliminated Evangel Christian Academy.

The Eagles lost the match 25-20, 25-23, 19-25, 25-22 to close their state tournament. ECA earned its best record since at least 2004, per MaxPreps, and had the team’s best finish since 2009 when the Eagles went 18-5.

Pine Creek, Lewis-Palmer end Friday with wins in late-night showdowns

The Eagles and Rangers both closed day two of the state tournament with contests that ventured past 10 p.m. but placed them in Saturday’s competition.

In 5A, Pine Creek went 2-0, won both of its matches 3-1 and concluded the penultimate day of the tournament with a 16-25, 25-21, 25-14, 25-18 win to eliminate the 2024 runner-up No. 4 Legend.

Pine Creek (22-7) could knock off 5A’s three-time defending state champs, No. 2 Valor Christian, in its 8 a.m. match Saturday and avenge last year’s semifinals loss to Valor’s Eagles.

In 2024, after Pine Creek battled back from the elimination bracket, Valor Christian eliminated Pine Creek 3-1 and defeated Legend in the title match.

For Lewis-Palmer, 4A’s No. 5 seed staved off Mead to advance to the third round of the elimination bracket. The Rangers (19-9) eliminated the No. 9-seeded Mavericks 28-26, 20-25, 18-25, 25-16, 15-12. The Rangers play at 9:30 a.m. in the ultimate rubber match.

The Rangers will face No. 4 Lutheran for the third time this season as the teams split wins in their Sept. 15 and 23 matchups. The winner plays University in the 2 p.m. semifinals.

This story has been updated with elimination bracket third round opponents and times.