The GHS volleyball squad with their hard-earned trophy as regional champs. (Photo by Evan Bjornstad)Bright lights won’t be an issue for the Gunnison volleyball team at the state tournament.
With consecutive 3-0 home wins in the Class 3A Region 9 tournament, the Cowboys punched their ticket to the state tournament in back-to-back seasons.
“We wanted to experience going to state again,” Gunnison coach Lindsay Hart said. “We got to state last year and folded. We weren’t ready for the magnitude of the experience last year. Our returnees want redemption and they’ve been working so hard for it.”
Because of their Saturday sweeps of Windsor Charter Academy and The Academy, Gunnison (20-5) has the chance to return to the Denver Coliseum starting Thursday and author their redemption story.
“This year I feel like we are going to come out with more intensity,” senior defensive specialist Ruthie Lock said. “Last year we were just there to play and have fun. This year we want to play to win.”
Part of that winning team is Macy Trezise who didn’t play for the Cowboys last season. She had to persevere through a right ankle injury but the senior right side will get her first taste of the state tournament.
While it took the Cowboys a few matches to gel (the Cowboys started their season 4-4) GHS has lost just one match since September.
“This is beyond my wildest dreams,” Trezise said. “I know these are incredible girls, but we lost some impactful seniors. I wasn’t sure we could all flow together, but we really got it going.”
As the Cowboys prepare for state, they’ll have their sights set on history. They’ll embark on a journey to Denver they hope culminates in the first volleyball state championship in school history.
Hart has spoken about the challenges of being a western slope athlete. She joined a determined senior class to provide stability to a program that had cycled through four coaches in four years, the opportunity to return home with some hardware is once again in front of the Cowboys.
“They want to see how far they can go,” Hart said. “They’ve worked this year. This team had to work for it. They didn’t just come out swinging. They want to leave a legacy and build this program and get this team as far as it can go.”
(James Nokes writes for Colorado Preps.)
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