The Eaton Reds volleyball team fought their way through the state tournament to the semi-finals. On Friday, Nov. 10, the Reds volleyball team traveled to the Denver Coliseum for the state tournament. The team entered the tournament with a record of 19-5. 

A week earlier, the girls faced off against Eagle Ridge Academy from Brighton. The game was an easy win, and it set the tempo for the rest of the postseason. A 3-0 sweep allowed the team to move on to the next round of regionals.

The Lady Reds played again later that night against Pagosa Springs. They finished the game with another 3-0 sweep and moved on to the state tournament.

Senior Jocelyn Contreras said, “[our attitude] was very much just knowing all of the training that we put in and knowing what we needed to do and it was time to execute. I think we were super level-headed.”

On the 4th, the Reds traveled to Denver and began the state tournament. Their first game was against the Centauri Falcons. The energy from the regionals carried over, and they beat Centauri 3-0 for another sweep.

In the quarter-finals, they played the University Bulldogs, a long time rival. It was a tough game, but the Lady Reds pulled off the win with a score of 3-1, advancing them to the semi-finals.

Ainslie Ross (23) said, “the first two games were so good, and our attitudes toward each other, which is a really big thing in volleyball, were really good. When we played [University] that was just a fun game because it’s always fun to beat them.”

The third and final game of the state tournament was the semifinal game against the Platte Valley Broncos. Ryleigh Haynes, a former Eaton volleyball player, worked as the Broncos head coach to claim the victory over her former coach, Gwen Forster. The Reds fought hard but lost the game 3-0 to end the 2022 season.