Honors continue to roll in for Class 5A volleyball champion Grandview, which wasn’t supposed to be that significant this past season yet won another Colorado title.
Individually, much of the credit is heading to Lauren Van Orden, a senior setter who has been named Colorado’s Gatorade player of the year.
Bound for San Diego State, Van Orden also was named 5A tournament MVP by The Denver Post last month as the Wolves downed defending state champion and nearby heated Centennial League and district rival Eaglecrest 3-2 in the finale.
The lone significant holdover from 2006, Van Orden led a working-class team by rolling to 27 kills and 20 assists in the clinching match as well as earning praise from coach Pattie Childress, who has been to the past five finals and has won three championships in four years.
“We were supposed to be down this year, but she pulled an inexperienced group together,” Childress said. “She brings the best out of everybody. She’s an awesome leader.”
Van Orden is eligible for national player of the year honors, which will be announced later this month. The honor has not included any Coloradans since its institution in 1995, but does include the likes of Logan Tom and Kerri Walsh.
Colorado Gatorade volleyball player of the year
2007 Lauren Van Orden, Grandview
2006 Lisa Metter, Colorado Springs Christian
2005 Sarah Ammerman, Chaparral
2004 Rachel Holloway, Smoky Hill
2003 Tara Hittle, Doherty
2002 Ashley Nu’U, Smoky Hill
2001 Amanda Miller, Heritage
2000 Devon Forster, Boulder
1998-99 Cari Jensen, Fowler
1997 Brittany Hochevar, Fowler
1996 Julie Jahnke, East
1995 Brook Coulter, Rocky Mountain
