Girls carry home fourth consecutive state title

By Sydney Booth

Eaton Volleyball has made history again, winning its fourth straight state title, making them fifth in the state for championship wins. Eaton cruised past opponents Coal Ridge, Sterling, and University to face the Valley Vikings in the championship match on Nov. 12. It was a familiar scene for the Reds, as they have battled Valley in the final match for three years in a row. In addition to being four-peat champs, according to Maxpreps, Eaton was 27-2 for the season, ranked 178 nationally, and third in the state under Lewis Palmer and Rock Canyon.

Eaton comfortably swept Valley in three sets with scores of 25-14, 25-19, and 25-18 in the final match. In the end, Eaton’s sheer athleticism propelled them toward victory. Middle hitter Tarynn Sieg (16) shook the floor with 16 kills in her last match and Makenzie Harris (19) had 14 kills. Harris’s last line kill ended the game and sent Eaton home with yet another gold ball. The team collapsed onto the floor in a heap of red uniforms before posing for pictures with their new piece of hardware.     

Before the epic finals match, the Reds worked in their two days at the Denver Coliseum, only losing one match in its journey for the gold.  This solitary loss was to Sterling in the third set with a score of 23-25. Fighting back in the fourth set, the Reds eventually overpowered Sterling 25-21, moving on to face University. In a thrilling show of talent, the Reds were able to pacify University even more so than they did Sterling. Eaton held University with a score of 25-15 in the first two sets and 25-18 in the final set.

Seniors Sieg, Isabel Noonan, Kylie Stewart, and Courtney Leafgren have never known what it is to lose a single match at state. Leafgren said, “Never losing a state game feels awesome. I can look back and think about all the talent at the sate tournament every single year and know that our team was able to rise above all the others.”