DENVER >> Mead volleyball’s run into the third round of the Class 4A state tournament may have been improbable, but the 12th-seeded Mavericks made sure the rest of the field could feel their presence.

On Friday afternoon at the Denver Coliseum, however, they hit a brick wall named Thompson Valley. No matter what they threw at the top-seeded Eagles, they couldn’t quite contend with a team that operated like a machine well-oiled from three straight trips to the state title match.

The Eagles took straight sets by scores of 25-8, 25-8 and 25-16.

“They’re definitely a really, really good team,” Mead’s freshman setter Cailin Hall said. “Being able to play them is definitely super fun. I think this will fuel us for the next games, knowing that we still can compete.”

The Mavericks, though down, aren’t out yet. Thanks to the double-elimination style of the tournament, they’ll have a shot at redemption on Saturday morning against the winner of No. 8 Lutheran and No. 5 Montrose. Mead upset Montrose during the first round of the competition (28-26, 25-20, 25-23) before stunning No. 4 Battle Mountain (25-19, 25-20, 25-20) even further.

Their final few weeks of the season have circulated around being the dark horse of 4A. Last weekend, the Mavericks waltzed into Roosevelt’s regional tournament and stole the state qualification right out from under it.

They carried that energy into the Coliseum and hope it will fuel them when they return to action on Saturday.

“We play as a family, and skill comes with it,” Hall said. “Versus Roosevelt, we were down two and we were able to play together and push and slam balls down for the last three sets. Being able to know how much we care for each other helps to play these hard teams.”The Eagles, now 26-1, are still very much in the hunt for their third state championship in four years. They’ll play their semifinal match at noon on Saturday.

“We had quite a few aces this game, so that was really important for us,” TVHS senior middle hitter Tatum Sharp said. “We were able to be efficient with blocking, and then also our serve receive really put us in system a lot, which is helpful.”

Lyons survives scare from Sanford

In contrast to Mead, Lyons was fighting for its survival in the 2A portion of the competition on Friday. The Lions entered the tournament as the No. 3 seed but felt the sting of No. 6 Wiggins’ attack during their 3-2 loss in the second round on Thursday night.

That sent them into the consolation bracket against No. 12 Sanford, who made them work for each and every point if they wanted to keep kicking. When everything looked set and done for the Lions in the fourth set, the Mustangs came storming back to nearly force a fifth.

“In that last set, gosh, we were 22, 23 to 13 right there, and we started to relax a little bit and kind of thought it was over,” head coach Marcus Richardson said. “We made a few mistakes, and then they got right back in it before you knew it.”

The Mustangs tied everything up at 23 before the Lions escaped with a victory and a 26-24, 18-25, 25-23 and 26-24 finish. Richardson played a little trickery to help his ladies get the job done.

“Fortunately, we were able to sub in a freshman at that point,” Richardson said. “Bree Bonner came in just to slow the server down and, of course, they served it right to her. She passed it up and we got the kill right there, which flipped the match for us.”

The Lions played No. 8 Del Norte later in the evening with the hopes of making it to Saturday.

Achievement unlocked

Prior to its trip to the Coliseum this weekend, Peak to Peak had never seen the state tournament. The No. 9 Pumas let their nerves get to them during their two matches on Thursday and Friday.

First, they dropped three competitive sets to a strong, eighth-seeded Sterling team (25-17, 25-19, 25-19), then fell to No. 7 Resurrection Christian after putting up more of a fight (25-17, 22-25, 25-7, 25-18).

They ended their 2024 campaign with a 20-7 record and a spot in school history.

“I was amazed by the atmosphere on Thursday, and I think that it rattled us a little bit, but today, we just came out with the mentality that we were here to have fun and this is our time to play and give it everything we’ve got,” senior Sydney Lewis said. “I am so proud of this team.”