After years of having a blue-ribbon team of Division I godsends, Grandview went blue collar this season.
The result? Perfection.
Grandview capped a 31-0 season Saturday and won its third state championship in four years by knocking off defending champion and Class 5A Centennial League rival Eaglecrest in four games at the Denver Coliseum.
In a display of grit and beauty, the Wolves were dominant at the net to win 32-30, 20-25, 25-16, 25-21 for their first undefeated season.
“The whole undefeated thing, I would have never guessed that, not even last week. Not ever,” Wolves coach Patty Childress said. “This team never set any long-term goals, and that was different for me.”
Lauren Van Orden, a setter and right-side hitter, was the soul of the Wolves, seemingly pulling clutch hits and sets out of the air whenever Grandview was in need.
Van Orden, a senior, had 27 kills, 20 assists and one block to be The Post’s 5A tournament most valuable player.
“I’ve said before and I’ll say it again, we’re harder on each than we’ve seen than anybody across the net,” Van Orden said. “We’re going to be the hardest-working team on the floor, whether we were struggling or had our A-game.”
To say the Wolves clawed through their season is an understatement.
They flexed that resolve in the first game against the Raptors (28-3), in which the score was tied 20 times and Eaglecrest had game-point on four occasions. But three kills by Van Orden, a block by middle hitter Erica Denney and a kill by Brianna Gradishar gave Grandview a 32-30 win.
Denney, a 6-foot-3 sophomore, had 15 kills and two blocks, and Gradishar had nine kills. Setter Theresa Read had 33 assists.
“This team had one big heart and it beat as one. It helped us so much and took us to the top,” Denney said.
The Raptors got 16 kills and four blocks from All-Colorado senior Courtney Karst in losing to the Wolves for the second time this season, a year after defeating them in the state final.
“I think Grandview, this year, is such a great defensive team and ball-control team, and we got out-ball controlled a little bit,” Raptors coach Tanya Bond said. “We couldn’t stop their hitting. Our block hurt us today.”
Junior Jordan Kissman had eight kills, 22 assists and three blocks for the Raptors.
CLASS 5A ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Erica Denney, Grandview, So.
Courtney Karst, Eaglecrest, Sr.
Jordan Kissman, Eaglecrest, Jr.
Theresa Read, Grandview, Jr.
Lauren Van Orden, Grandview, Sr.
Breanna Williams, Columbine, Sr.
MVP: Lauren Van Orden
