CENTENNIAL — Eaglecrest volleyball coach Tanya Bond is not a believer in fate or coincidence.
Yet Bond was quick to point out that in the most recent season in which the Raptors won their annual Eaglecrest Invitational, 2006, they also went on to win a state championship.
Well, the Raptors once again are champions of the Eaglecrest Invitational, and they will get no argument about their state championship potential from Grandview and Pine Creek.
Eaglecrest defeated both clubs, which entered the tournament as two of the hottest teams in Class 5A, during the top-bracket round on Saturday. The Raptors, ranked ninth in Class 5A, needed three games to dispatch No. 6 Grandview — which upset No. 1 Chaparral earlier in the week — before defeating No. 5 Pine Creek in consecutive games.
Eaglecrest topped Grandview 19-25, 25-19, 15-12 and defeated Pine Creek 25-23, 27-25.
“Grandview was a big win for us, because obviously they are a league rival and they are right down the block from us,” said Bond, whose club also defeated Roosevelt, ranked sixth in Class 4A, during pool play. “It goes back to us defensively and with ball control. If we can out-ball-control teams, we know we’re going to be in every match.”
After scoring four of the final five points to clinch the decisive third game against Grandview, the Raptors were in danger of getting routed early by Pine Creek. The Eagles held a 21-13 advantage in the first game before Eaglecrest reeled off nine consecutive points, holding off Pine Creek for a 25-23 win. The Raptors were able to carry that momentum down the stretch of their back-and-forth victory in the second game.
Moran Bohl led the Raptors’ attack against Pine Creek with 16 kills and eight digs, and fellow senior Bailey Karst added 10 kills and eight digs.
“We were shaky at first, but we kind of worked back into it one point at a time,” Bohl said. “As soon as we’re in the lead, we always go for it. That gave us the momentum for the next one.”
