Almost any team knocked out of the state volleyball tournament has the right to think it suffered a bitter end.

Fleming, though, suffered such a narrow defeat last season that its championship loss to Kit Carson rankles the Wildcats to this day.

In one of the most closely contested matches in state history, Fleming was edged by the "overtime" score of 16-14 in Game 5. What made it more memorable, though, was that the losing team in each preceding game never lost by more than four points. The final tally had Kit Carson winning 25- 22, 23-25, 23-25, 25-21, 16-14.

"It was really tough," Fleming middle blocker Amy Einspahr recalled. "There were a lot of sad faces around here for a long time. It seemed to me it was the longest (trip back from) Denver ever."

A two-point championship loss can be devastating, but Fleming has used it as a rallying point for this season. The Wildcats enter the fall ranked No. 1 in Class A.

Returning players could have used the loss as an excuse to mope and complain. Instead, the Wildcats attacked the summer camp season with vigor and determination.

"I've been pleasantly surprised," Fleming coach Derek Herbert said after a week of practice. "I think we're stronger than we were last year. We're more experienced. Depth is definitely a factor. Our practices can be really competitive."

Setter Bethany Atkin agreed that the Wildcats have more good players than ever.

"We've gotten a lot better," she said. "A lot of us played club, and we're going to run a quicker offense. Also, having a good second team helps. When you have a (junior varsity) that can give you some competition, that makes it much better."

Fleming graduated a starting middle, Alicia Vandenbark, who made the all-tournament team last year along with Atkin. But Einspahr is that rare Class A player, a towering 6-foot-2 senior who can move.

"With her height, Amy can do some things that other 1A kids can't," Herbert said.

Herbert said Atkin has made tremendous strides in the off-season and that the Wildcats should have no problems defensively.

"Our passing, with Lynnae (Cox), Amanda (Wilkening) and Alyssa Muller - they put the ball on the money, so we can do a lot with it," he said. "I probably wasn't the best with stats, but Michelle King had to have the most aces in the state."

Herbert said his players realize they can turn their loss last season into the impetus for a championship.

"They've worked really hard. It's within our grasp if we put in extra time and extra effort.

"We've never won the state volleyball tournament. We're hoping we can bring the trophy home to our fans. They supported us so well throughout last year."

NOTEBOOK

• One of the advantages to Class A volleyball is that some of the districts can be quite diverse.

In Class 3A and some parts of Class 2A, district tournaments can be little more than a rehash of the league season. That also happens in Districts 2 and 5 for Class A, but District 1 pits eight teams from four leagues. District 8 has teams from two leagues, plus independent Denver Waldorf.

Of course, geography doesn't always go hand-in-hand with a mixed district field. North Park discovered that a few seasons ago, with lengthy trips during the playoffs. But when the Wildcats, who are from Walden, can go up against a team from Vail or Dove Creek, for example, that can spread the interest all across the Western Slope.

• Small schools, small world. There were two volleyball standouts from widely separated schools who shared the same last name. Shelby Fritzler of Flagler never thought she was related to Richelle Fritzler of Merino. But when the two families met during the postseason last year, they discovered they might have common relatives in Germany.

• Merino, incidentally, was ranked by several coaches even higher than the No. 5 awarded by the Rocky Mountain News in the preseason listing. A return to state would be welcome for what has been one of the state's most consistent tournament entries. From 1985 to 2003, the Rams qualified for state every year but twice, in 1992 and 2002.

• Vail Christian coach Cathy Alexander was well-aware that her team had talent last season. But nobody really could guess that the Saints were good enough to qualify for state - for the first time in school history.

Alexander said a lot of her players just had started to take up club volleyball, so they were able to show their skills right away during fall practice. That hit-the-ground-running situation set up a big run to the Denver Coliseum.

In previous years, Vail Mountain and DeBeque usually had made it to state, but Vail Mountain moved to 2A last year and DeBeque's nine-year stretch of state appearances ended in 2004.

The good news for Saints fans is that Vail Christian graduated only one senior, and the success of 2006 has the team intent on a return trip to state.

• Nobody is calling Aurora Christian the Class A equivalent of Mullen, but the volleyball team has something in common with the Mustangs. Aurora Christian is a member of the Northern Front Range League, which is otherwise composed entirely of 2A teams. The Blue Angels drop to Class A for the playoffs in District 8, just as Mullen does from the 5A Centennial League to 4A. One other unusual distinction about districts is that Herzl/Rocky Mountain Hebrew does not participate in the playoffs.

• Hi-Plains, which had several years of success with the Sayles sisters, has another set of siblings, priming the Patriots for more victories. Callie McCaffrey, a junior outside hitter, and Whitney McCaffrey, a sophomore middle blocker, have impressed coach Kerry Sayles with their improvement. Hi-Plains already has a top player in sophomore outside hitter Beth Cooper, and junior Amber Bowser is a good passer.

Back to Top