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Longmont bags pair of higher seeds

Alan Pearce, Rocky Mountain News

Published November 10, 2007 at midnight

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Top-seeded teams at the state volleyball tournament were an endangered species Friday, and Longmont turned out to be the biggest of the big-game hunters.

The Trojans were seeded the lowest of eight teams in Class 4A, but they ignored that number in favor of some better ones. Longmont beat Berthoud 3-1, handing the No. 1 Spartans their first loss this season.

Berthoud's problems continued with a 3-1 loss to Mountain Vista, putting the Spartans (26- 2) out of contention for the semifinals.

Longmont (23-5) continued its success at the Denver Coliseum with another four-game victory, this one against fourth-seeded Montrose. The Trojans can win Pool 1 with a win against No. 5 Mountain View in the opening match at 8 a.m. today.

Longmont lost the first game against Berthoud, 24-26, but rebounded for a 25-21 count in Game 2 and finished off the Spartans (26-1) rather easily, 25-15 and 25-13.

The win against Montrose was less dramatic, but the Trojans had to come back after losing the first game and ended up posting a 24-26, 25-21, 25-15, 25-13 victory.

"I think when we lost the first game, we knew we had to win the second," Longmont's Carina Brose said. "It was like a sense of urgency. We really had that fire."

Trojans coach Holli Stetson said Longmont's experience at state last season served it well.

"A lot of my girls said this (arena) felt like home," Stetson said.

The Trojans were led to victory by Nikki Stetson (Holli's daughter), Lauren Janich and Brose, all sharp in either setting or hitting. But Holli Stetson credited other defensive aspects with helping the Trojans pull off the upsets.

"I thought our block was great in the Berthoud game, and one other thing that stood out was our serve receive," she said. "It allowed us the ability to execute on the first ball. Some of those digs were playable but ugly. But our serve receive was stellar (Friday)."

The blocking was vital, as the Spartans feature Kelley Arnold, a 6-foot junior who has committed to the University of Northern Colorado. Arnold, a left- handed outside hitter, is one of the hardest hitters in the state.

Longmont, though, had pressed the Spartans hard during their regular-season match and just seemed ready to win.

Janich, a 5-7 senior, was the hitting heroine, with 20 kills against Berthoud and 17 against Montrose.

Regis, the No. 3 seed, also came away with two victories on opening day.

The Raiders (24-4) had the battle royal against defending Class 4A champion Battle Mountain, notching an exhausting 25- 20, 32-34, 19-25, 25-23, 15-11 victory in the second match of the day.

"Who does that, play to 34 points in one game?" asked Raiders coach Laura Dunston. "I think we blew an eight-point lead (17-9) against them, but I think they are a very good team."

The Raiders went from that five-game marathon to a grudge match against highly motivated Cherokee Trail. Dunston is an aunt of two Cougars players, Lindsay Baca and Bri Morley.

Instead of it being a family- friendly affair, that match was more like an episode of The Sopranos. Regis came up with a 28-26, 24-26, 25-6, 25-23 win, as the Cougars played a lot tougher than they did while getting swept earlier by Cheyenne Mountain.

"Sometimes we're down, but we have a way of coming back," Regis outside hitter Kristina Lavrisha said.