Last weekend, the Cougars finished off one of their most successful seasons in recent years. This season Coronado’s varsity volleyball team won 22 games and lost only three games in the regular season. Not only that, but they also cinched the Colorado Springs Metro League title after a one year hiatus in 2016. Going into State, the Cougars, ranked #6 going into the tournament, had high hopes for the eight senior’s last few games together.

First up was #3 seed, Castle View. As the match progressed, Coronado’s defense, despite its best efforts, struggled to keep up with Castle View’s strong offense. After a narrow 27-25 loss in the first set, the Cougars struggle to regain momentum in the second set, which they gave to the Sabercats 17-25. However, the Cougars came back with passion in the third set, the team playing quickly and effectively. They won the set 22-25 before continuing on to the fourth set, where they were narrowly beaten to close the match. Because of this loss, the rest of the Cougars’ journey at state became much more difficult, as they would now have to beat Rock Canyon, who had beaten Castle View earlier that day, and win two tie-breaker games to advance to the semifinals.

The next day the Cougars took on Rock Canyon with the chance to advance on the line. The team’s focus and composure as fans quaked anxiously in the stands was admirable.The Cougars got off to a strong start, building off of the terrific defense of senior Bethany Heitland, and claimed the first set decisively. However, despite the team’s’ good play aside from their numerous serving errors, Rock Canyon’s Keeley Davis, a first team All American who tallied over 500 kills this season, helped the Jaguars claim the second and third sets 20-25, 21-25. The Cougars came back swinging in the fourth set, however, and took that set and the fifteen point fifth set tiebreaker with great teamwork and hustle.

Senior Mara Abernethy notched a career high 24 kills over the course of the match, and Jaelyn Hershberger, also a senior, racked up 10 kills and 16 digs in her double double performance. Other outstanding performances came from seniors Delaney St. Pierre, whose integral role to Coronado’s offense was reflected in her 47 assists, and libero Bethany Heitland, who spearheaded the defense with 37 digs.

With such fantastic performances, the Cougars earned themselves another shot to advance to the semifinals, so, after a short break, they took the court once again to play a one set tiebreaker against Rock Canyon. However, this time the Cougars could not overcome the Jaguar offense, finishing the match 20-25. Abernethy “It was a tough loss, we were really excited at the prospect of playing Castle View again but I was really proud of how we stuck together as a team and fought hard throughout the entirety of the match and the tournament.”

Although the Cougars had hoped to progress further at state, they finish the season with a 5th finish at state. Head Coach Wells illustrated this, saying, “I am pleased but not satisfied.  The progress that the team made was tremendous, but I sure would like to have a do-over from State.” Delaney St. Pierre, Jaelyn Hershberger, and Mara Abernethy received First Team All League honors, and Mallory Brown and Bethany Heitland receive Honorable Mention. Abernethy was also deemed Player of the Year, and first year head coach Stormie Wells, Coach of the Year. Next year, the Cougars will look to continue the legacy of the fantastic program with new talent, as the team will graduate eight seniors. Wells continued, “There is a lot of young talent in the program.  We have never graduated 8 seniors, so there will be major voids, but there are some very good underclassmen who are looking to carry on the tradition. ” Either way, the 2017 Coronado volleyball team has definitely left its mark.

Congrats Cougars on a fantastic season!