{"id":37451,"date":"2022-11-07T17:45:04","date_gmt":"2022-11-08T00:45:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/dove-creek-volleyball-sweeps-regionals-will-go-to-state-tournament\/"},"modified":"2022-11-08T00:45:04","modified_gmt":"2022-11-08T00:45:04","slug":"dove-creek-volleyball-sweeps-regionals-will-go-to-state-tournament","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/dove-creek-volleyball-sweeps-regionals-will-go-to-state-tournament\/","title":{"rendered":"Dove Creek volleyball sweeps regionals, will go to state tournament"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Dove
Dove Creek\u2019s Trista Barnett (left) and Lexi Gray raise the 1A Region 8 tournament\u2019s first-place plaque after Dove Creek\u2019s sweep of La Veta in \u201cThe DawgHouse.\u201d (Joel Priest\/Special to The Journal)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

Playing in the deepest region in the Class 1A field, Dove Creek High School made its regional title look like another day at the office.<\/p>\n

The Bulldogs required six sets to dispatch a pair of strong programs to make their way back to the state tournament for a second consecutive season.<\/p>\n

A year after making noise in the state tournament, just one match shy of a state semifinal appearance, the 25-0 Bulldogs look to enter the 1A state tournament with more to prove this year \u2013 hoping to carry momentum from their performance in front of a raucous home crowd at their regional wins.<\/p>\n

The Bulldogs knocked off No. 17 Flatirons Academy in the regional opener, 25-21, 25-13, 25-21, then swept past No. 9 La Veta 25-17, 25-19, 25-18 in the final match to celebrate a regional title on their home floor.<\/p>\n

\"Dove
Dove Creek head coach Lacey Murphy congratulates her Lady Bulldogs during a timeout against La Veta in the 1A Region 8 tournament's championship match Saturday. (Joel Priest. Special to The Journal)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Dove
Dove Creek\u2019s Ralynn Hickman (10) breaks the block of La Veta\u2019s Mattie Bjorum (6) for a kill during the 1A Region 8 tournament's first-place match Saturday. (Joel Priest\/Special to The Journal)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Dove
Dove Creek\u2019s Trista Barnett (11) skies for a kill shot over Westminster Flatirons Academy\u2019s Margot Marcantonio (25) during the Lady Bulldogs\u2019 first of two 1A Region 8 tournament victories Saturday. (Joel Priest\/Special to The Journal)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Dove
Dove Creek\u2019s Kalie Gatlin (13) looks to set Kylie Gatlin (23) during the Lady Bulldogs' 1A Region 8 tournament opener versus Westminster Flatirons Academy Saturday.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

\u201cThis is a huge victory,\u201d said senior Trista Barnett. \u201cGetting to play the No. 9 team in the state and beat them in three is a great feeling.\u201d<\/p>\n

To say that the Bulldogs have been dominant would be an understatement; head coach Lacey Murphy\u2019s squad has dropped a total of five sets all season.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey put all the pieces together,\u201d said Murphy after her team\u2019s domination of the regional, \u201cI think they\u2019ve been waiting for a game like this, and they\u2019d been really excited for the postseason.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were covering our blocks, we were actually hitting, digging, all really well,\u201d added Barnett. \u201cThat\u2019s the best I\u2019ve seen our team play \u2013 we\u2019re ready for State now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Junior Kalie Gatlin provided a spark from her setter position.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can read her really well with her passes,\u201d said sophomore Ralynn Hickman. \u201cShe\u2019s a big asset to our team.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe can set up to where you can get a kill with good passes,\u201d added Murphy. \u201cYou can have all the good hitters you want, but if you can\u2019t get them the ball, that doesn\u2019t do you any good.\u201d<\/p>\n

The last time that the Bulldogs won more than 25 matches, they played in the state semifinals in 2013 as part of a 26-1 season, falling to eventual champion Fleming.<\/p>\n

In spite of their unbeaten record, the Bulldogs fell in state rankings late in the season, giving Dove Creek a bit of extra motivation heading into the regionals.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think they feel like they have a point to prove to the rest of the state. They wanted to make a statement that we are as good as we look,\u201d added Murphy.<\/p>\n

Dove Creek will join a field of 12 teams in the 1A state bracket to be competed over the weekend of Nov. 10-12 at the Denver Coliseum. The Bulldogs will open their state tournament run as the No. 8 seed, with a rematch against No. 9 La Veta on Thursday, Nov. 10, at 8 a.m. The winner of the match will face defending state champion and top-seeded Merino about 2 p.m.<\/p>\n

State semifinals will be competed Saturday afternoon, with the title match set for 6 p.m.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re really excited,\u201d said Hickman. \u201cWe hadn\u2019t won regionals in a long time, so it shows what we can do as a team.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"The
The Dove Creek Lady Bulldogs earned the right to compete in the upcoming CHSAA State Championships by sweeping both Westminster Flatirons Academy (25-21, 25-13, 25-21) and La Veta (25-17, 25-19, 25-18) in 1A-Region 8 tournament action Saturday, Nov. 5, inside 'The DawgHouse.' DCHS will travel to the Denver Coliseum standing an undefeated 25-0.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bulldogs rout Flatirons Academy and La Veta at home<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":36826,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[28,29,346],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-37451","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-headlines","tag-newsletter","tag-sports"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37451","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=37451"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37451\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36826"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37451"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37451"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37451"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=37451"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}