DENVER – Each time Avery Tychsen threw down a kill and Addison Jones turned University away with a block, Berthoud’s belief grew more and more.
After taking the two of the first three sets, the Spartans never wavered and scored perhaps the upset of the day, beating University 25-21, 20-25, 25-17, 25-22 in the second round of the Class 3A girls volleyball state tournament. It was Tychsen who ended the match with a kill in the fourth set, making a small corner of the Denver Coliseum erupt like Clint Barmes had just hit a walk-off home run to lift the Colorado Rockies over the San Diego Padres in 2005.
The Bulldogs and Spartans had faced each other just 17 days earlier with University looking dominant in a 3-0 sweep. Combined with the fact that the Bulldogs had put together a strong run through the 4A state tournament a year ago, and a loss in their first match would not have been on a lot of bingo cards…