Thompson Valley overwhelms Lutheran for 3rd title in four years

CLASS 4A

Eagles win third title in the last four years

Thompson Valley celebrates in the middle of the court after winning the Class 4A state title game against Lutheran at the Denver Coliseum on Saturday. REBECCA SLEZAK — SPECIAL TO THE DENVER POST

Image

By Patrick Saunders

psaunders@denverpost.com

The overriding question heading into the Class 4A state girls volleyball tournament was whether or not anyone could handle Thompson Valley’s formidable firepower.

The answer was a definitive no.

The Eagles thrashed Lutheran in the finals, winning 25-19, 25-12, 25-14 to capture their third title in their last four years.

“These girls have played together for a long time, and they have played together for four years under me, so now they just run with it,” coach Lester Thorne said. “We took a while to get in a rhythm, but we usually get it together and start playing our best toward the end, which is super nice.”

The Eagles finished the season 28-1, their only loss coming to Class 5A Chaparral early this month. TV regained the throne after losing to Lewis-Palmer in last year’s epic, five-game title match. TV won at all in 2021 and ’22.

TV clinched its spot in Saturday’s championship with a dominating victory over Windsor in the semifinals earlier in the day. The Eagles blitzed the Wizards in straight sets (25-20, 25-8, 25-7). Windsor managed to hand TV its only set loss of the tournament in the second round on Thursday.

“Our team is so close and so talented,” said senior Avery Gibbs, who earned a scholarship to UC Santa Barbara. “When we play our best, I don’t think anybody can beat us. … I think that loss to Windsor kind of woke us up a little bit. We were really focused and intense after that.”

She was right about that.

“We were fired up today,” Thorne said. “These girls are such good athletes and competitors. I really don’t have to do much — just let them get after it.”

The Eagles are loaded with talent: Kayla Kauffman is headed to Northwestern, Tatum Sharp is going to Western Carolina and Ashlyn Tafoya earned a scholarship to Colorado Mesa.

“We are definitely loaded with hitters and I think that’s been the bonus for us this year,” Thorne said.

“We have such great depth and we’ve had this depth all four years,” Sharp added. “Every year, we have other girls willing to step up to the plate.”

Lutheran earned a spot in the championship by beating Cheyenne Mountain in the best match of the semifinals. The Lions dropped the first set, 25-16, and looked out of sync. But they got their act together and eventually won in five sets (16-25, 25-17, 25-22, 19-25, 16-14).

“This feels so surreal,” Avery said. “This is such a special group of girls. I’m so proud of what we did over four years.”