{"id":21780,"date":"2025-06-18T23:22:30","date_gmt":"2025-06-19T05:22:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/dove-creeks-taylor-barry-comes-up-big-at-all-state\/"},"modified":"2026-03-30T22:09:31","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T04:09:31","slug":"dove-creeks-taylor-barry-comes-up-big-at-all-state","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/dove-creeks-taylor-barry-comes-up-big-at-all-state\/","title":{"rendered":"Dove Creek\u2019s Taylor Barry comes up big at All-State"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Joined
Joined by Sterling's ShayLeigh Ulrich (10) Dove Creek's Taylor Barry (1) celebrates a point with Mead's Hailey Hall (5) during the 2025 Colorado High School Coaches Association All-State Games' first-place match Friday evening, June 13, inside CSU-Pueblo's Massari Arena. The Red team defeated Black in four sets to earn the Games' championship. Joel Priest\/Special to The Journal<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

PUEBLO \u2013 Wearing No. 1 on her back and announced first to the fans inside CSU-Pueblo\u2019s Massari Arena early Friday evening, June 13, Taylor Barry then proceeded to let her skills sear her name into attentive fans\u2019 memories as she and her Red teammates strove for first place in the 2025 Colorado High School Coaches Association All-State Games\u2019 volleyball tournament.<\/p>\n

Able to down the match\u2019s first true kill shot, increasing Red\u2019s early lead against Black to 10-4 and pressing the enemy into using a timeout, the graduated Dove Creek senior\u2019s starting-lineup inclusion wasn\u2019t a courtesy and came with virtually no hesitation.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have had the privilege of coaching her twice,\u201d said Red head coach Leslie Weis, alluding to the fact Barry was on her Class 1A-Red roster at the Colorado Coaches of Girls\u2019 Sports All-State Games back in November \u201924. \u201cAnd one of my all-time favorite things is that she is such a kindhearted soul \u2013 and she can play anywhere!\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Dove
Dove Creek's Taylor Barry (1) tries placing a two-handed tip shot over the block of Idalia's Addyson Juhnke (5) during the 2025 Colorado High School Coaches Association All-State Games' first-place match Friday evening, June 13, inside CSU-Pueblo's Massari Arena. The Red team defeated Black in four sets to earn the Games' championship. Joel Priest\/Special to The Journal<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Dove
Dove Creek's Ralynn Hickman (1) receives congratulations from Colorado Coaches of Girls' Sports Basketball Co-Chair David Huss (Iliff Caliche H.S.) for taking part in the 2025 CCGS All-State Games' Class 2A feature\u2013Hickman and the 'Blue' team would lose 54-51 to 'Red' despite Hickman scoring 10 points\u2013Sunday, March 23, at Skyview H.S. in Thornton. A Mount Marty University volleyball commit, Hickman most recently completed her DCHS career hooping June 10-11 in Pueblo as a Colorado High School Coaches Association All-State selection. Joel Priest\/Special to The Journal<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Utilized by Weis and assistant Tiffany Aragon, both of De Beque High School, in both back- and front-row roles, and seldom off Harry H. Simmons Court for more than a couple minutes, Barry helped Red cruise to a 25-16 win in Set 1 before Black, benefiting in Set 2 from a 9-4 start similar to Red\u2019s initial breakout, evened the contest with a 25-22 win capped by consecutive blocks by Gypsum Eagle Valley\u2019s Aspen Misch.<\/p>\n

Red, however, roared right back and forced Black into using another timeout after a kill by DBHS\u2019 Ava Vines put Red ahead 6-0. A Barry pass then helped Vines down another ball, and a subsequent Barry dig led directly to a kill by Mead\u2019s Hailey Hall. A net violation then increased Red\u2019s lead to 9-0 before Black\u2019s Naomi Decker (Thornton Riverdale Ridge) pounded a kill, removing ShayLeigh Ulrich (Sterling) from the service line.<\/p>\n

Opposing coaches Kassidy Froese (Cheraw) and Britney Branson (Edwards Vail Christian) would elect to use their second timeout after Red repelled Black\u2019s first real advance and rebuilt a 15-8 advantage, but the set \u2013 and match, for that matter \u2013 then took another pro-Red turn when Misch went down with an apparent left-knee injury while blocking in tandem with Peighton Marrero (Strasburg) against Jessica Venneberg (Bennett), and Black trailing 17-11.<\/p>\n

\u201cVery heavy on her block \u2013 she was very solid,\u201d Barry said, \u201cso I do think it affected the game in some way. But I\u2019m definitely not doubting my team\u2019s ability to still overcome the (second-set Black) win.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Dove
Dove Creek's Ralynn Hickman (1) battles Hoehne's Alessa Cantoria for a rebound during the 2025 Colorado Coaches of Girls' Sports All-State Games' Class 2A feature\u2013Hickman and the 'Blue' team fell 54-51 to 'Red' despite Hickman scoring 10 points\u2013Sunday, March 23, at Skyview H.S. in Thornton. A Mount Marty University volleyball commit, Hickman most recently completed her DCHS career hooping June 10-11 in Pueblo as a Colorado High School Coaches Association All-State selection.Joel Priest\/Special to The Journal<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Dove
Dove Creek's Taylor Barry (1) receives congratulations early Friday evening, June 13, from Colorado High School Coaches Association volleyball president\/representative LaVerne Huston (head coach at Windsor since 1991), for taking part in the 2025 CHSCA All-State Games' volleyball tournament. Playing inside CSU-Pueblo's Massari Arena, Barry and the Red team would go on to defeat Black in four sets to earn the Games' championship. Joel Priest\/Special to The Journal<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

\u201cThe grittiness, the heart, the never giving up, and just giving everything you have \u2026. Every girl gave everything they had and played hard to the end,\u201d she continued. \u201cThat\u2019s how Erin (DCHS\u2019 Barry) coaches and, yeah, it was definitely similar.\u201d<\/p>\n

Barry had a chance to sew up Set 3 but, with Red on set point at 24-18, cracked a kill shot just long. Black\u2019s Addison Goff, a teammate of Decker\u2019s at RRHS, returned the gift moments later when she hit a ball outside the antenna, giving Red a 25-19 win and 2-1 lead in sets.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was trying to figure out our subs and trying to get everybody some playing time, and it was the \u2018team\u2019 dynamic that really helped,\u201d said Weis. \u201cThey were helping each other and encouraging each other and I think that\u2019s why they played so well together and came out with a win.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve never coached a team with that many kids \u2013 I\u2019m from a small town \u2013 so it was kind of interesting; we had three setters, three middles, you know,\u201d she added, \u201cand \u2026 they were willing to try anything and just wanted to play. They really enjoy the game of volleyball and it shows.\u201d<\/p>\n

Red again gained the upper hand early in Set 4, along with another unexpected bonus when Marrero \u2013 who later that night became the statewide girls\u2019 CHSCA Freddie Steinmark Award winner (Lakewood Green Mountain\u2019s Simon Lunsford was the boys\u2019 recipient) for excellence in athletics, academics, leadership, and community service \u2013 injured her left shoulder and had to shroud it in ice for the remainder of the match.<\/p>\n

First reaching match point at 24-17, Red\u2019s patience was briefly tested as Black\u2019s Decker scored via a clever set dump and middle Bobbi Starkebaum (Haxtun) followed with a kill. But the hard-hitting Hall, a strong complement to Vines, answered with a kill securing Red a 25-16, 22-25, 25-19, 25-19 triumph.<\/p>\n

\u201cYesterday when we started playing, we were kind of getting used to each other and stuff. But by, probably, the middle of the first set (in Red\u2019s semifinal win over White) we were already kind of jelling together and working really well together,\u201d explained Barry, considering either Ouachita Baptist University (Arkadelphia, AR) or Utah Tech University (St. George, Utah) to pursue studies in nursing or athletic training.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd I had the best teammates ever; all these girls \u2026 they\u2019re just competitive, high-level and play a fast tempo. But I don\u2019t take any of the glory or credit for myself; I give it to Jesus for just the ability to walk out here and play my hardest. It felt pretty amazing, and I\u2019m so thankful. Couldn\u2019t ask for anything more.\u201d<\/p>\n

White, meanwhile, bounced back from its loss to Red with a 25-16, 18-25, 19-25, 25-20, 15-10 victory over Blue \u2013 with Ignacio\u2019s Marissa Olguin, like Barry, representing the 2A\/1A San Juan Basin League \u2013 in the third-place match.<\/p>\n

What else is new<\/div>\n

Having committed to study at and play volleyball for Mount Marty University in Yankton, South Dakota,, under head coach Sophia Lobo Paes and graduate assistant Morgan Burnett (a former Fairplay South Park standout), Dove Creek\u2019s Ralynn Hickman was also present at the CHSCA All-State Games, but as a basketball participant.<\/p>\n

A CCGS All-State pick in the sport back in March, Hickman suited up in Pueblo for the Black team and chosen coaches Matt Baumgartner and Ashlea Carothers, both of Greeley\u2019s University High.<\/p>\n

Requests made for scores\/statistics of Black\u2019s semifinal loss Tuesday evening, June 10, to Blue, and third-place battle against Red the next afternoon had not been answered as of press time.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

grad vital cog for Games\u2019 volleyball champs<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":21781,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[28,29],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-21780","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-headlines","tag-newsletter"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21780","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21780"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21780\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":77455,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21780\/revisions\/77455"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21781"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21780"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21780"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21780"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=21780"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}