Sedgwick County, Merino take volleyball championships

Volleyball season wrapped up last week in Denver with state champions crowned across Colorado’s five classes.

Sedgwick County duplicated its 2021 state championship performance this year. It also was in the championship game the spring of 2021.

The second-seeded Cougars swept No. 7 Denver Christian and No. 4 Fowler in its first two games. The Cougars beat No. 1 Wiggins in the semifinals 23-25, 25-20, 25-19 and 25-18, then beat Fowler again in the finals, 25-23, 24-26, 25-17 and 25-21.

Fowler handed Wiggins a loss in the quarterfinals, 3-2. 

Daysprings Christian Academy, the ninth seed, along with Denver Christian and No. 12 Hoehne – all teams faced by Holyoke during the season – went 1-2.

Faces familiar to Holyoke ended up on the top of the head in Class 1A.

Merino and Fleming split matches in the tournament, but Merino won the one that mattered and claimed the state title.

Merino, the number one seed, swept No. 8 Dove Creek before losing 2-3 to No. 4 Fleming. Merino beat No. 11 Briggsdale and No. 3 McCree 3-0 to set up a rematch with Fleming. Merino won the championship match 25-17, 25-21 and 25-19, and claimed its third straight state championship game win over Fleming.

Fleming, which made its fourth consecutive trip to the title game, beat No. 12 Stratton before its upset of Merino. Fleming beat No. 7 Simla to advance to the title game.

Idalia, seeded fifth, and Otis, seeded 10th, both went 0-2 in Class 1A.

Third seeded Platte Valley won Class 3A over No. 1 Lamar, 3-2, and left Lamar holding the runner-up trophy for the second year in a row. Thompson Valley, the second seed, won back-to-back titles with a sweep of No. 3 Windsor in Class 4A. Number one Valor Christian beat No. 3 Rock Canyon in Class 5A.