With volleyball regionals set to begin this weekend, Denver East is with the skill and experience to win a state title.
The fifth-seeded Angels have beaten many of the other elite 5A teams in the field—including wins over No. 4 Chatfield (3-2 on Sept. 14), No. 17 Grandview (3-1 on Sept. 17), and (2-0 in the Dakota Ridge Tournament on Oct. 29)—and head into the postseason with a plethora of experience from last year’s state tournament run.
Benefiting Denver East this year is the balanced offensive attack of senior Chase Jackson (233 kills), senior Maya Patterson (191 kills) and sophomore Qairo Bentley (150 kills), as well as the 690 assists by senior Amirah Bentley and the 47 blocks of senior Asiya Way.
The Angels drew No. 20 Highlands Ranch (underrated and dangerous) and No. 32 Rangeview (athletic and upset-minded) in the Region 5 bracket, and will no doubt continue to lean on its seasoned senior class—not to mention the talented underclass likes of Qairo Bentley and fellow sophomore Alexis Blair (27 blocks)—to make a run at the program’s first state title and school’s 70th state title overall.
Saturday’s schedule is as follows, with the regional winner advancing to the state tournament: Denver East vs. Rangeview at 3:30 p.m.; Highlands Ranch vs. Rangeview at 5:30 p.m.; Denver East vs. Highlands Ranch at 7:30 p.m. All matches are at Denver East High School.
Denver Post preps editor Kyle Newman caught up with Denver East coach Tarah Olmstead (née Sponenberg) to discuss her team’s playoff prospects, her talented seniors, her preseason wedding and more.
