GREENWOOD VILLAGE — The Doherty volleyball team achieved its goal of earning a rematch against Class 5A No. 2 Ponderosa by reaching the final of the Bruin Classic.
Yet Saturday’s effort hardly was cause for celebration among the Spartans. The No. 3-ranked team in Class 5A saw its state title hopes hit a roadblock when 6-foot-3 senior Taylor Simpson, the reigning Class 5A player of the year, suffered a left ankle injury during a pool-play match against Durango.
By the time Doherty began its rematch against Ponderosa, which outlasted the Spartans in a five-game thriller a little more than three weeks ago, Simpson was leaning heavily on a crutch and could only watch as Ponderosa swept the Spartans 25-18, 25-22.
Simpson was diagnosed with a high ankle sprain and will be re-evaluated Monday. While it is far from a season-ending situation for Simpson, it remains unclear how long she will be sidelined.
“We’ll have to see how long it will take,” Doherty coach Julie Ortiz said. “Taylor is our big gun and everyone knew they had to step up their game. I think sometimes we can rely on Taylor too much. I just hope that she heals and we get her back full-go.”
After Simpson went down, the Spartans managed to hold off Durango and swept a solid Fort Collins club in the semifinals of the top playoff bracket. Despite missing Simpson, Doherty gave an error-prone Mustangs team a commendable battle and led the second game 21-17 before Ponderosa finally pulled away, clinching the Bruin Classic title with an 8-1 run.
Caitie Breaux led Ponderosa with 10 kills and three aces.
“We found a way to win,” Ponderosa coach Rob Graham said. “Maybe it was not the way I’d have liked to see the game progress. Way too many errors on our side of the court. I don’t want to say we were lucky, but without their best player, it easily could have been different.”
