This upcoming weekend, Aspen High School will see some new faces in the big gym as girls’ volleyball is set to host regionals.
After a strong season, boasting a phenomenal 18-5 record and losing only one game during conference play, the girls ended ranked 11th in 3A. The top 12 seeded teams in each “A” classification hosts a tournament. The Skiers will host KIPP Denver Collegiate High School and The Vanguard School on Saturday, Nov. 8th, starting at 1 p.m. This will be the first time the Skiers have hosted regionals in (at least) 17 years.
“So actually, we think it [the last time we hosted regionals] was, like, about 20 years ago. They don’t really have a record of it on Maxpreps, at least, because they only started recording in like, 2008, so it’s been a while,” said junior captain Belle Sinclair. “There was a team in 2018 that had a similar record to us, but they didn’t host.”
Since Aspen hasn’t hosted regionals in so long, this weekend carries extra weight for the players. The Skiers are excited to have achieved their goal of hosting regionals and are ready for the challenge.
“I think it’s been a goal of ours for quite a while, since we’ve always been pretty close to having this opportunity,” Sinclair said.
This year’s playoff berth is extra special as the Skiers expect to return their entire varsity squad next year.
“I think it made us all really happy and excited to have this opportunity because we have no seniors on our team. So like, having it junior year is pretty cool,” Sinclair said.
The girls will play their first game against KIPP at 1 p.m. and then face Vanguard in the finale of the tournament, following the game between Vanguard and KIPP. The winner of the tournament will advance to the state tournament, held at the Denver Coliseum, Nov. 13-15. Students should be prepared to buy tickets at the door, as CHSAA generally requires tickets for playoff events.
As the tournament approaches, the girls are focused on playing their own game.
“I think our coach just wants us to play our game, not other teams’. We’re very good when we’re all locked in doing our thing and running our plays, and when we stay in system with the ball, we just play really well…So I think our mentality is just to keep it on, like, keep it in control, and keep it in our game and how we play,” said Sinclair.
This article was updated on Nov. 8, 2025 to correct an inaccuracy regarding playoff procedures.
