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Chaparral downs No. 1 Ponderosa
  
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By Benn Farrell
Chaparral volleyball did Highlands Ranch a favor.
Playing host to No. 1 ranked Ponderosa Oct. 21 at Chaparral High School in Parker, Wolverines volleyball beat the Mustangs 3-2 after being down two close games. With the win, Highlands Ranch, Chaparral and Ponderosa all finish the regular season tied at 11-1 in the Continental League standings. However, it is the Falcons who are able to claim the league title with Chaparral finishing second and Ponderosa third.
What’s more, Ponderosa, undefeated walking into Chaparral for the last game prior to playoffs seeding, finished its season with an 18-1 overall record. The Mustangs finish the regular season with the best record in the state but third place in their own league, which will affect their seed in the post-season.
With other coaches from the Continental and even Centennial Leagues in attendance to see what was guaranteed to be a slugfest, Ponderosa claimed the first game 26-24 and the second 25-21. Chaparral started to feel like they had nothing to lose, making them push harder in the third game.
“In the first two games, I think we had a lot of errors,” said Chaparral middle Anna Faul, a junior. “We weren’t sure about ourselves, and we started to make mistakes. In the last three games, I think we just realized, there is nothing for us to lose, and we just have to put it all on the floor, so that helped us get back.”
Ponderosa coach Rob Graham said his team fell apart some in the third game, eventually losing 25-19. In the first two games, the Mustangs’ passing was strong, allowing them to run their offense and move the ball like usual. Chaparral’s block and back row stepped up in the following three games.
“They were picking up our shots. They were digging more balls. And when they got the ball back, they were able to put the ball away,” Graham said. “We played great defense, but their offense was just a little bit better in those last three games. We couldn’t slow them down.”
Ponderosa moved up to the No. 1 rank in the state quickly this season, but Chaparral didn’t have a chance to really scout their cross-town rivals prior to the showdown. Faul said, however, she and others play club volleyball with some of the Mustangs’ players, which gave them an idea about Ponderosa’s strengths.
In addition, players they hadn’t played in club, like Mustangs libero Kendall Howard, they had at least heard plenty about them and assumed what could be expected from them.
“We just went off of what we knew of them from club and what we had heard,” Faul said. “It’s our last game of the season. You want to go out with a win. If you want to go out fighting, you try as hard as you can.”
From this point forward, any opponent in front of Ponderosa may be in store for an even tougher Mustangs team. Reaching state is the Mustangs’ only goal at this point, and the loss to Chaparral to finish the regular season is only going to be fuel on the fire.
“We told the girls, if anything you have to get mad. You should be mad,” Graham said. “You should take it out on every team you see from here on out and let them know that you are a great team, and you deserve to be in the finals. To get there, you’ve got to beat up on everybody. That means doing your job. I hope the girls respond to that and work hard [the] next week in practice.”
For Chaparral, this kind of a come-from-behind win against the No. 1 team in the state is exactly the type of boost Wolverines coach T.R. Ellis wanted prior to the post-season.
“We’ve been talking all year about putting it all together and playing every point, and as soon as you play that point, it’s gone and you play the next point,” Ellis said. “I really think [against Ponderosa], they did that. We really worked on competitive confidence, just playing in the moment. Every single kid did exactly that. That’s what we had to do to beat them, cause they were a great, great team.”
“Now we know we can come back if we’re down two games,” Faul said. “I think we’re just excited to go get anything that comes towards us.”
Regardless of post-season or records, Ellis said having such an exciting cross-town rivalry is a rare experience for high school athletes to see at that a level.
“I think they were truly playing for each other, playing for the pride of Parker, playing for all the fans that were [there] and playing in the moment,” the Chaparral coach said. “They enjoyed the high school rivalry. I told them before, very few people get to experience this. This is really special how year after year we can play this kind of a match and kids come out and support it, and they get into it. And our kids just rise to the occasion and do great.”
Given how Chaparral and Ponderosa’s boys volleyball clubs meeting in the finals has become a staple of their playoffs, Parker continues to show its pool of talent.
“It really is a volleyball town,” Ellis said. “Two of the top clubs in the state are right in our backyard. Those coaches come and watch us. They recruit our kids, and [the kids] can literally drive two minutes and be at their club site. I think that’s huge.”
Playing host to No. 1 ranked Ponderosa Oct. 21 at Chaparral High School in Parker, Wolverines volleyball beat the Mustangs 3-2 after being down two close games. With the win, Highlands Ranch, Chaparral and Ponderosa all finish the regular season tied at 11-1 in the Continental League standings. However, it is the Falcons who are able to claim the league title with Chaparral finishing second and Ponderosa third.
What’s more, Ponderosa, undefeated walking into Chaparral for the last game prior to playoffs seeding, finished its season with an 18-1 overall record. The Mustangs finish the regular season with the best record in the state but third place in their own league, which will affect their seed in the post-season.
With other coaches from the Continental and even Centennial Leagues in attendance to see what was guaranteed to be a slugfest, Ponderosa claimed the first game 26-24 and the second 25-21. Chaparral started to feel like they had nothing to lose, making them push harder in the third game.
“In the first two games, I think we had a lot of errors,” said Chaparral middle Anna Faul, a junior. “We weren’t sure about ourselves, and we started to make mistakes. In the last three games, I think we just realized, there is nothing for us to lose, and we just have to put it all on the floor, so that helped us get back.”
Ponderosa coach Rob Graham said his team fell apart some in the third game, eventually losing 25-19. In the first two games, the Mustangs’ passing was strong, allowing them to run their offense and move the ball like usual. Chaparral’s block and back row stepped up in the following three games.
“They were picking up our shots. They were digging more balls. And when they got the ball back, they were able to put the ball away,” Graham said. “We played great defense, but their offense was just a little bit better in those last three games. We couldn’t slow them down.”
Ponderosa moved up to the No. 1 rank in the state quickly this season, but Chaparral didn’t have a chance to really scout their cross-town rivals prior to the showdown. Faul said, however, she and others play club volleyball with some of the Mustangs’ players, which gave them an idea about Ponderosa’s strengths.
In addition, players they hadn’t played in club, like Mustangs libero Kendall Howard, they had at least heard plenty about them and assumed what could be expected from them.
“We just went off of what we knew of them from club and what we had heard,” Faul said. “It’s our last game of the season. You want to go out with a win. If you want to go out fighting, you try as hard as you can.”
From this point forward, any opponent in front of Ponderosa may be in store for an even tougher Mustangs team. Reaching state is the Mustangs’ only goal at this point, and the loss to Chaparral to finish the regular season is only going to be fuel on the fire.
“We told the girls, if anything you have to get mad. You should be mad,” Graham said. “You should take it out on every team you see from here on out and let them know that you are a great team, and you deserve to be in the finals. To get there, you’ve got to beat up on everybody. That means doing your job. I hope the girls respond to that and work hard [the] next week in practice.”
For Chaparral, this kind of a come-from-behind win against the No. 1 team in the state is exactly the type of boost Wolverines coach T.R. Ellis wanted prior to the post-season.
“We’ve been talking all year about putting it all together and playing every point, and as soon as you play that point, it’s gone and you play the next point,” Ellis said. “I really think [against Ponderosa], they did that. We really worked on competitive confidence, just playing in the moment. Every single kid did exactly that. That’s what we had to do to beat them, cause they were a great, great team.”
“Now we know we can come back if we’re down two games,” Faul said. “I think we’re just excited to go get anything that comes towards us.”
Regardless of post-season or records, Ellis said having such an exciting cross-town rivalry is a rare experience for high school athletes to see at that a level.
“I think they were truly playing for each other, playing for the pride of Parker, playing for all the fans that were [there] and playing in the moment,” the Chaparral coach said. “They enjoyed the high school rivalry. I told them before, very few people get to experience this. This is really special how year after year we can play this kind of a match and kids come out and support it, and they get into it. And our kids just rise to the occasion and do great.”
Given how Chaparral and Ponderosa’s boys volleyball clubs meeting in the finals has become a staple of their playoffs, Parker continues to show its pool of talent.
“It really is a volleyball town,” Ellis said. “Two of the top clubs in the state are right in our backyard. Those coaches come and watch us. They recruit our kids, and [the kids] can literally drive two minutes and be at their club site. I think that’s huge.”
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