Aspen Skiers Face Forge Christian in State Volleyball Bracket

Aspen —The gymnasium floor at Aspen High School still vibrated with the echo of the final point on Saturday, Nov. 7. The Skiers had just dropped their fourth set against Jefferson Academy, the crowd’s noise cutting through the quiet of the mountain air outside. Inside, the trophy was already being passed from hand to hand.

That regional title is a $0 expense for the district, but it comes with a logistical cost. Aspen High School volleyball returns to the Class 3A state tournament for the second straight year, a feat that requires bus tickets, lodging in Denver, and hours of travel for players who are also students. The Aspen Times reported the Skiers won their region as the No. 11 seed, beating Weld Central and Jefferson Academy to secure a spot in the double-elimination bracket at the Denver Coliseum.

Let’s do the math on their season so far. The team is 22-2 overall. In the regional, they swept Weld Central in three sets (25-15, 25-17, 26-24). Against Jefferson Academy in the finale, it was closer. Aspen won the first set 25-20 but lost the second 25-23. The third set went to a tiebreaker, ending 30-28 for Aspen before they closed it out in the fourth, 25-13.

On paper, a No. 11 seed looks like an underdog. In practice, it’s a trap. Last fall, Aspen entered state as the No. 11 seed and went 0-2. They lost to Bayfield in the first round and then fell to Forge Christian, 3-1. This year, they face a different opponent in that same first-round slot: No. 6 Forge Christian at 11 a.m. Thursday.

The bracket is stacked with teams that have first-round byes. No. 1 University, No. 2 Resurrection Christian, No. 3 Holy Family, and No. 4 The Classical Academy skip the opening round entirely. If Aspen beats Forge Christian, they don’t get a bye; they play again immediately in the double-elimination format. The other teams competing without byes include No. 5 Sterling, No. 7 Alamosa, No. 8 Eaton, No. 9 Berthoud, No. 10 Platte Valley, and No. 12 The Village.

For context, the state tournament runs from Thursday through Saturday inside the Denver Coliseum. That is a 30-mile drive from Aspen to Denver, but the tournament itself requires staying in or near the city. For a high school team from the Roaring Fork Valley, that means three days of competition in a facility that is roughly 40 miles from the nearest major hotel cluster. The Aspen Times noted that last year’s state title went to No. 3 Eaton, who beat No. 1 Alamosa in the championship game.

The Skiers will be represented by players like Hannah Lee, Andrea Lee, Scarlett Taylor, and Ava Braley, all of whom were photographed by Austin Colbert during the regional final. The team’s record is strong, but the bracket does not care about records from other regions. It only cares about who wins the next match.

The practical impact for locals is minimal in terms of direct cost, but significant in terms of time and attention. The team leaves for Denver on Thursday morning. If they win their opener, they play again that same day or the next, depending on bracket structure. There is no "rest" in a double-elimination state tournament for a No. 11 seed. They either win their way to the final or they go home after two losses, just like last year.

The bottom line: Aspen High School volleyball has earned a trip to Denver, but they haven’t earned an easy ride. The Skiers are 22-2, which is impressive for a small program, but the state bracket is designed to punish seeds that aren’t No. 1 through No. 4. Every set from now until the championship game is a potential elimination point. The trophy in the AHS gym is nice, but it’s just the entry ticket to a much harder test.