Aurora – Ponderosa played the final match of the Cherry Creek Volleyball Tournament with a sense of urgency not all related to its desire to win.
Saturday was homecoming night.
The Mustangs shrugged off a scoring error by the officials in Game 2 and dispatched Horizon, ranked No. 8 in The Denver Post/9News Class 5A poll, 25-18, 26-24 in the 12-team tournament at Grandview High School.
“Homecoming, that was big motivation to get done,” Ponderosa senior Paula McConnell said as she sprinted out the door.
Unranked Ponderosa (9-2) dropped just one game in five matches, and a wall of big hitters and blockers is what got it done.
Outside hitter Ashley Cessna pounded the ball from every angle, as did McConnell and Kerri Hungate, and Jillian Robinson and Chelsey Avery joined those three to turn back at the net a number of Horizon (6-4) kill tries.
“We are big,” McConnell said.
Lewis-Palmer beat Doherty in the third-place match, and Heritage topped Cherry Creek in the consolation championship. Doherty’s Emily Stockman was named the tournament’s most valuable player.
The Mustangs controlled the first game after jumping out to a 9-3 lead that was capped by a monster kill from Cessna.
“Defense is the main key of this team, and our defense really triggered our offense in the first game,” Cessna said.
The second game in the best-of-three tournament was much closer as Horizon turned the momentum in its favor.
Allyce Bebensee racked up the points, mostly from the left side of the floor, and pushed the Hawks to an 11-6 lead. Setter Sara Saleh dropped in a point to make the score 18-12 in favor of Horizon and it looked like the Mustangs might be late for the big dance.
Ponderosa regained its grip with another kill by Cessna to make it 18-13, but that’s when the officials lost track of the score.
On the ensuing whistle, Ponderosa setter Courtney Brunkow dropped in an ace and the score should have switched to 18-14, but no point was awarded. Ponderosa coach Rob Graham protested with no luck.
“When they shorted us that point, it just motivated us,” McConnell said.
Indeed, the Mustangs raced back to tie the game at 19, and an ace by Kerri Trombley gave Ponderosa its first lead since it was 3-1.
Cessna followed a kill by McConnell with one of her own to make it 25-24.
The game actually should have ended there if the scoring had been correct, but Brunkow and Robinson made for a more exciting finish with a block of Hannah Tuomi’s effort.
“I don’t think we really believed in ourselves. We kind of let this one get away,” Bebensee said.
