Sometimes the state volleyball tournament stage is too much for teams to handle.

That wasn't the case for Wray at the Class 2A event Friday at the Denver Coliseum.

The Eagles, who qualified for state for the first time since 1978, outlasted Burlington 21-25, 25-18, 19-25, 25-23, 15-10 and then pushed top-seeded Fowler briefly before losing 25-14, 25-22, 25-19 in pool-play matches.

"We're very excited to be here (at state) for the first time in 30 years and we wanted to get some business done," said Wray coach Angela DePue, in her second season at the helm. "These girls know how to handle pressure and they did a pretty good job (Friday). We just came up short against a good Fowler team."

In 1978, Wray advanced to the final before losing to Platte Valley 15-10, 6-15, 15-10 in the Class AA championship. The Eagles (17-10) conclude pool play with a match against Mancos (20-7) this morning.

The Eagles are tied for second in the Pool 1 standings, behind Fowler (25-3), which has a 2-0 record. In Pool 2, Colorado Springs School (27-1) and Sangre de Cristo (22-5) posted 2-0 records Friday and will advance to the semifinals.

Colorado Springs School and Sangre de Cristo will meet in a final pool-play match this morning to determine seeding from Pool 2.

The top two teams in each pool will play cross-bracket semifinal matches today. The championship is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Fowler has won 11 state volleyball championships, the last coming in 2005.

"I'm so proud of the way my girls played (Friday)," third-year Fowler coach Sandy Moss said. "There are very high expectations in this program, and these girls have higher expectation for themselves than I do of them."

While Wray's volleyball team doesn't have much state experience to draw from, the Eagles are no stranger to the spotlight.

Seniors Emily Post, Stacy Post, Christa Loyd, Kaitlin Neuman and Hillary Lenz powered the Eagles to the Class 2A state basketball crown in March. The Eagles beat Grand Valley 48-47 at Massari Arena on the Colorado State- Pueblo campus.

"Volleyball and basketball are obviously different, but we're used to playing in big arenas with a lot of people," Stacy Post said. "We're mentally strong and we came ready to play, and we just need to come back (today) and play well."

Entering the state tournament Wray was on a roll, having won 13 of 14 matches.

"The girls have really come together and bought into what we're doing in volleyball," said DePue, whose squad had lost to Burlington in five games earlier this season. "We just need to keep taking one game at a time (today) and see what happens."