4A Boys Volleyball: Regis Groff Captures First State Championship

FOUNTAIN – The definition of Fusion — bringing two things together seamlessly — brought the first state championship for Regis Groff in boys volleyball.

The top-seeded amalgamation of players from two schools in Green Valley Ranch came together for a magical run that concluded Saturday evening at Trojan Arena with a 30-28, 25-18, 25-19 victory over third-seeded Pueblo South to win the first Class 4A state championship since the sport became sanctioned by the Colorado High School Activities Association and split classifications.

Coach Oliver Thornton’s Fusion defeated the Colts for a second time on the final day of the three-day tournament — both with sweeps — and finished the season on an 11-match winning streak. The last loss for Regis Groff (26-3) came back on April 12 and ironically, it came to Eaglecrest, which won the 5A state championship on the adjacent court a few minutes later.

“All we’ve ever wanted is to get one percent better every single day and the boys have put in the work,” Thornton said. “It felt great to see them work hard and push them through a challenge. This feels phenomenal.”

Pueblo South (23-7) had an eight-match winning streak stopped with a morning loss to Regis Groff, but earned its chance for a rematch with a victory over No. 5 Severance.

Coach Ramon Arriaga’s Colts — undersized as a whole, but full of fight — came out determined to jump on the Fusion and had them on the ropes for the majority of the opening set. Four times, however, they were unable to get the clinching point and Regis Groff went on to pull out a 30-28 victory.

“To me, it’s all about if you want to work for it,” Thornton said. “We were down three and I was like ‘ok, this is your chance to fight.’ It’s not that important to me that they won the set, but that they fought and didn’t give up.”

Thornton — who missed the opening matchup with Pueblo South to attend a wedding — knew that his team needed to up the intensity against a team that was playing its third match of the day.

The Fusion began to find their rhythm in the second set and used a 9-0 run to build a 26-7 lead. The Colts refused to go away, but eventually the set went to Regis Groff, 25-18.

“Winning that first set really gave us an edge,” senior setter Jayden Flores said. “You could tell Pueblo South came in a little nervous, so we got that one and used it to get the second one.”

With the championship within reach, the Fusion leaned on junior outside hitter Eamon McKim and teamwork to finish it off. Another run early in the third set gave Regis Groff a lead that remained at least a handful the rest of the way until the final point that came with Flores on the serve.

“I’m feeling great and I’m so proud of my team for pushing through,” Flores said. “Pueblo South put up a good fight, it was a fun game and congrats to them, too. …The team is going to be a target next year, a lot of people are looking forward to trying to take them down.”

The championship came in the fifth season of the program, which started under Jordan Roehl in the COVID-19 shortened 2020-21 season and has had at least a winning record in every season in existence and double-digit wins in all but the first campaign.