Lady Indians back on the road

MONTROSE — Following their sweep last Saturday at the state district tournament, the 19-4 Montrose Indian volleyball team hits the road again this week.

The Lady Indians travel to Roosevelt High School in Johnstown, north of Denver, for the Colorado regional volleyball tournament as part of the final 16 teams in state 4-A competition. The Indians are seeded 6th and will compete in the Region C bracket along with host Roosevelt, the No. 3 seed, and the 11th seeded D’Evelyn Jaguars from Denver. Greeley West completes the bracket.

Each of the four-team brackets will conduct a round-robin format, each team playing the other three with the top two finishers moving on the state tournament Friday and Saturday, Nov. 7 and 8, at the Denver Coliseum.

Head coach Shane Forrest and assistant Heidi Voehringer said the Indians are pleased with their positioning in the regional tournament but have no thoughts that things will be easy. Montrose will take on D’Evelyn in the opening match, set for 8 a.m. and are well aware of the Jaguars 6’2 Emily Adney. She is an outside hitter who, according to Voehringer, can “absolutely crush the ball.”

The 10:30 match will pit Montrose against Greeley West. The Spartans, the 14th seed in regionals, come from the highly competitive 4-A Northern League, acknowledged as one of the top leagues in the state, and the Montrose coaches expect strong challenges from every team at this point in the season.

The final match of the bracket is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. and will pair host Roosevelt with Montrose. Forrest expects that “Roosevelt will be tough as they have a team full of good athletes.”

Having faced the Lady Roughriders during a summer tournament at UNC should give the Indians confidence, according to Forrest. “We are going into the tournament with a lot of confidence coming off of our district championship, but also know that we have to play our game with consistent passing and tough serving and blocking.”

Voehringer captured the excitement of the team and school: “The kids are popping in and out of my classroom all the time, telling me how excited they are and that they’re ready to play. It’s a fun time of year, and everyone (players, coaches, parents) is enjoying it — that makes the ride even more special.”

Forrest concluded, “Our focus will be to take one match at a time, one game at a time, one point at a time, and to enjoy every moment of it!”