Vail Christian and Denver Waldorf go down to the wire in battle of two top-10 teams in 4A boys volleyball
Ryan Sederquist/Vail Daily
An accident on Vail Pass may have delayed Denver Waldorf’s arrival for Saturday’s matchup against Vail Christian, but it couldn’t totally jam the No. 4-ranked Spartan’s ultimate mission.
“We had the game plan ready,” Spartan coach Austin Stanley joked when asked if the extra 90 minutes spent waiting on the interstate gave his staff any extra time to review film. “They have great middles and we had to shadow in the middle and trust our defense around the block. The rest would follow.”
The Spartans survived a five-set thriller against the No. 10 Saints, taking down their Confluence League rivals 28-26, 22-25, 25-17, 22-25, 15-12 to improve to 8-1 on the year. Despite most of its players possessing less than two years of experience, Vail Christian came out sharp and looked organized offensively.
“Yeah, 100%,” senior Max Litviakov answered when asked if this is the best team in the program’s four-year history. “(We) were really close (today). That was the best passing we’ve had so far. Obviously not perfect, but we’re getting hits every other play, which is really nice.”
Daniel Parez’s tough serves and soft sets, coupled with high-flying hits from captains Luis Rico and Ian Salyer helped the Saints jump out to a 5-2 start. When Litviakov timed things right, nothing could stop the 6-foot-7-inch middle hitter, who slammed a spike into the earth’s mantle to make it 6-4.
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“When our defensive components are on, we can really run Max efficiently,” commented Vail Christian coach James Scott. Unfortunately, the Saints also tended to push the ball tight to the net, thereby limiting setters’ distribution options. Denver Waldorf capitalized on such errors for a critical 5-0 run to make it 21-16. Salyer, the Saint’s only four-year veteran, came alive with a pair of precise spikes and a right-handed touch shot over the defense to rally his team back into a 25-24 advantage. That’s when the Spartan’s stocky leading kill-shot artist, Henry Lottridge, took over, tying things up with a sideline-slanting missile.
“He brings great energy and never is down,” Stanley said of Lottridge, whom he called the “most dominant” player on his squad. “And (he’s) always uplifting of his teammates.”
The Saints again started strong in the second, scoring the first three points before bleeding to an 8-6 deficit. An impressive 9-2 run followed, however, en route to the three-point victory. The Spartans controlled pace from the start of the third, the only lopsided set of the affair. The eight-point win and subsequent 3-0 start in the fourth appeared to deflate the Saints entirely.
But powerful back-to-back kills from Rico and Nico Rodelo brought Vail Christian back to life. The Saints took a 10-9 lead off another crusher from Litviakov, who buried the ball inside his opponent’s attack line. Salyer, who would have been the hero of the first set with his clutch scoring then, came through in crunch time with a huge spike to tie things up at 17. He also sealed the deal with the final kill.
“He absolutely stood out tonight with commanding the net defensively,” Scott said. “And offensively, he was definitely our player of the match.”
Scott said the fourth set showcased what’s possible when errors are reduced.
“We’re always trying to get our serves in and dial in our passing so we can run that offense we have,” he added. “And the guys were able to focus on that and allow us to execute.”
The Saints trailed 6-5 early in the deciding set, but Lottridge — who’d gone quiet the previous half hour — flipped a switch. The junior slammed three kills and blocked a Saints attempt in sparking the Spartans to a 10-5 advantage. Despite losing the momentum, Vail Christian dug in at match point, down 14-8. Salyer scored on two-straight shots and Jaiden Vizcaino dug out a deep kill attempt to keep the next rally alive. A second Salyer spike made it 14-12.
“If the ball comes over, I just see it and hit it back down,” Salyer said when asked about his role as the most experienced veteran. “That’s my job.” The multi-sport athlete has enjoyed watching the program blossom from 3-7 in 2022 to a No. 6 ranking earlier this season.
“That we can compete together and against other teams — it’s really cool to see,” he said before crediting his coach with the culture of competitiveness. “He’s really good at nurturing that environment. When we’re in practice, we’re always competing with each other and I think that really is the best way to get better as a team.”
“It’s pretty remarkable how far the program has come,” said Scott, whose team cuts against the Front Range grain with just one player on an off-season club roster. “It tells you we’re still a budding program but the interest is there in the younger guys. They’re really hungry to get on the court.”
In the end, Lottridge wouldn’t be denied on Saturday afternoon. The southpaw skied high and pelted a cross-court hit off a helpless Saints defender to finish the five-set drama.
“A little cold spot in there, but he always finds his way back,” Stanley said. “We can always count on him to have the last two or three points in the match and pull through.”
Vail Christian fell to 7-8 going into a key three-game stretch to close the regular season. The Saints will need wins against Alameda and STEM School Highlands Ranch next week for a chance at hosting a regional game. They close the year on April 26 at Denver Waldorf. Scott said rewriting the narrative in the team’s rematch requires controlling the first set, taking Lottridge out of system and keeping an even keel in the huddle.
“You can see the ebbs and flows today of when they were up and down,” the coach said. “Handling those down moments is when we really need to find that spark.”
Salyer agreed.
“Whenever you go to five and lose by three — we just got to keep the energy up the whole time,” he said.
Stanley thinks the rematch could look a lot like today’s game — minus the traffic delay, hopefully.
“I love the coaches, the team, the program. There seems to be a lot of respect for one another, so we’ll see,” he said. “We went to five today — no doubt it could do that again.”
