Vail Christian and Battle Mountain girls volleyball teams set to play historic outdoor match

Coming off banner campaigns in which both squads went to the state tournament, the Battle Mountain and Vail Christian girls volleyball teams will kick off the 2026 season in historic fashion.

On September 3, the Huskies and Saints will meet in Edwards for the inaugural ‘Lights above the Peaks: Volleyball Under the Alpenglow.’ The outdoor volleyball match will be played under the lights on the Battle Mountain High School football field.

“We’re just really excited to provide this new community event,” Vail Christian coach Britney Branson said. “But also this awesome opportunity for these volleyball players to a be part of something like this.”

Branson was initially inspired by the University of Nebraska’s outdoor game at Memorial Stadium on August 30, 2023. With 92,003 fans in attendance, the spectacle set a world record for the largest crowd to watch a women’s sporting event in the United States — surpassing the USA’s FIFA World Cup final against China on July 10, 1999 at the Rose Bowl. Branson and her players gathered for a watch party three years ago.

“That was kind of the start,” the coach said. Last fall, Vanderbilt resurrected its volleyball program with an outdoor game, albeit on a smaller scale. That event convinced Branson the concept could be brought to the high school level.

Support Local Journalism

Donate

“After I saw that I reached out to Scott (Graves),” Branson stated. The local coaches met on the Battle Mountain field last fall to brainstorm. Graves was onboard, but when he initially floated the idea to Zachary Holden, the Battle Mountain athletic director was simultaneously intrigued and a little skeptical.

“The more we talked about some of the finer details, it became clear that both of these schools, programs and coaches were extremely committed and determined to make it happen,” Holden said. “Now, I know that this event will become a tradition like no other in the valley and I’m really excited to be a part of it.”

While the idea remained mostly a secret throughout the winter, once the logistics were ironed out, Vail Christian made the big announcement on its social media channels Wednesday night.

“Just walking out there in the evening when the sun goes down – we’re so blessed to be in a beautiful mountain valley,” Branson said. “It gives me chills walking out there to envision a volleyball court on that football field with the background and stands full of people excited about supporting some local athletes.”

Branson believes it will be the first outdoor high school volleyball match in Colorado. The game will be live streamed on the NFHS network and CHSAA is hoping to have a media presence at the event as well, Branson said. Fans can expect a “college-style game-day experience featuring stadium lights, music, special presentations, community involvement and the opportunity to watch volleyball in a setting unlike any other in the state,” a press release noted.

The game will be played on a custom sport court containing roughly 5,000 tiles that snap together. A slight dip from the track to the field will require a plywood platform underneath to level things out.

“It’s going to be quite the construction production,” said Branson, who has three families from each side working together to make sure the event runs smoothly. The plan is to conduct a test event in July. The week of the event, the court will get set up on Monday to allow each team the chance to practice and get a feel for the unique setting.

“The court, the weather, the depth perception, and distractions — it’s definitely going to be a lot different than indoors,” Branson said.

The Huskies and Saints have met for pre-season scrimmages in past seasons, but this will be the first official meeting between the teams since 2019. Battle Mountain is 9-2 against Vail Christian all-time, with the Saints only wins coming in 2011 and 2015.

“We’re planning for this to be an annual thing,” Branson said of the ‘Lights Above the Peaks’ event, which will be a varsity-only competition.

Both programs’ recent successes add to the event’s intrigue.

“Both schools take a lot of pride in their play and work extremely hard to maintain the level that they have climbed to,” Holden stated. “I think that is what makes this game so special and enticing. These are powerhouse teams who know how to win and do not shy away from the big moments.” 

Battle Mountain went 24-5 last year — the most wins since 2007 — and is 47-8 (and 23-1 in league play) over the last two seasons under Graves’ guidance. Since Branson took over Vail Christian’s program in 2023, the Saints have made the state tournament twice and gone 31-3 in league play. Only one player graduated from last year’s group, which went undefeated in Western Slope competition. Considering Branson was a Battle Mountain alumna herself — she was the captain and MVP of the state championship squad in 2006 — and the rivalry contest made perfect sense.

“The setting and the opportunity is almost perfect,” she said. “If we’re going to do it, the inaugural year, honestly all the seniors in the valley – this class is unreal at all four schools. We’re going to really try and go big and make this an event we’ll never forget.”

“I want to give Scott and Britney all of the props in the world,” Holden added. These two visionaries have done the legwork to put all of this together and I believe it demonstrates to their teams (and everyone else that is paying attention) that you should dream big, and you can achieve those dreams through diligent hard work, thorough planning and never giving up.”