Battle Mountain hosts local rivals in volleyball jamboree

On the heels of the historic Lights Above the Peaks outdoor volleyball match last week in Eagle County, all four local volleyball programs gathered Wednesday night for a scrimmage-style event, giving every high school volleyball athlete the opportunity to enjoy the unique experience.

“It’s great to get the whole county out representing volleyball,” Eagle Valley coach Brandon Boseman said from the constructed court on Battle Mountain’s football field Wednesday night. “I think the idea was to get everybody together and showcase what volleyball’s all about in Eagle County.”

Battle Mountain and Vail Christian put on a thrilling show in the inaugural Lights Above the Peaks match last week and were joined by Eagle Valley and Vail Mountain School teams on Wednesday.

“It’s amazing,” Rangers coach Todd De Jong said. “Last time we talked, I told you just how incredible our senior class is and how we rely on them being leaders, so we have the seniors actually coaching some tonight.”

The volleyball community is close-knit in Eagle County, with many of the girls from different schools growing up together and playing club volleyball together.

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“I’ve never seen anything like this in volleyball,” De Jong added. “One of the refs last week was in tears over this whole thing and just how incredible it is to bring attention to women’s sports.”

While last week’s match was CHSAA-sanctioned, Wednesday’s jamboree featured volunteer referees, no jerseys and no scorekeeping. But the volleyball was still quality and the energy was still high, with celebrations and cheers after every point. (Our favorite being the human bench press celly on one of the benches.)

“It was tough with the wind and the sun, but it was fun to play outdoors and play against a team we wouldn’t otherwise play, but we do know a lot of the players,” Devils senior Riley Weatherred said Wednesday. “We’ve played club with these girls, so all the volleyball girls in this valley are in one place, so it’s fun.”

Weatherred added that she’s played volleyball outdoors, but never on an indoor court.

“It brings in different elements to the game,” Rangers senior Tatum Jaffe said. “We have wind, we have cars on the highway.”

Jaffe helped coach her team on Wednesday, and hopefully learned something her coach forgot.

“We didn’t think to bring our sunglasses,” coach De Jong said with a laugh. “We showed up and Eagle Valley, they all had sunglasses.”

At one point, Weatherred tossed her sunglasses from the court, almost hitting her coach.

“I think it made it worse,” she said of the shades.

On Sunday, University of Nebraska volleyball suspended its outdoor match at Wrigley Field due to humidity causing dangerous court conditions. The Nebraska coach said afterward, “There’s a reason why our sport’s indoor.”

Nebraska’s record-setting outdoor volleyball match in 2023 served as inspiration for the local high school matches, an idea by Saints coach Britney Branson and Huskies coach Scott Graves that was brought to life thanks to a herculean effort by parents and the community.

“It’s certainly a consideration,” Boseman said of the weather risk of playing outdoors. “You want to have fun with volleyball, but you don’t want to be seeing athletes get hurt, games being affected by weather and that kind of stuff.”

For the Lights Above the Peaks event, organizers and volunteers at Vail Christian and Battle Mountain were closely monitoring the weather, at one point considering pulling the plug three days out. But the weather cooperated, and the event was able to go off successfully. And, coaches and players were prepared to move the match inside if need be — something a crowd of 40,000 at Wrigley Field are unable to do.

“This takes about 15-20 people to set up and take down, and now we have to store it,” Graves said. “And it only happens with parents and a community that’s involved.”

On Wednesday, local staff and volunteers were honored for their commitment and dedication to local youth.

“I think what made it worth it is hearing about it every single day, talking about how awesome it was,” Graves said.

For two nights, all eyes were on women’s volleyball in Eagle County.

“That’s what this is all about,” Branson said. “The sport is growing, and it’s so cool to be a part of it. I hope we kind of change volleyball in the valley after that evening.”

“It was a full-circle moment,” she added, “playing Battle Mountain — my school — coaching them (Vail Christian), having my college announcer and then having this community here of so many people I know from different seasons of my life — it was epic.”

The Saints, Huskies, Rangers and Devils will continue their seasons from here. But next season …

“We’re going bigger next year,” Graves said.

Ross Leonhart is a freelance writer, editor, social media specialist, snowboard instructor, local emcee and more. Follow Leonhart on Instagram @Colorado_Livin_On_the_Hill.