Wiggins ends IHS’ season in four-setter 

The first song piped through the Denver Coliseum’s sound system during the hour preceding day two action at the 2025 CHSAA Class 2A State Championships was Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers’ 1989 “Runnin’ Down a Dream.” 

With the stakes elevated even higher for teams in every classification, it was an apt selection. 

Unfortunately for Ignacio’s Volleycats, their supreme dream, however visible in their collective mind’s eye, remained too distant to realize. And after falling 8-25, 12-25, 20-25 to ’24 State Champion Sedgwick County (Julesburg/Ovid Revere co-op) the previous morning, IHS’ stellar season ended Friday morning, Nov. 14, with a four-set loss to ’24 State Runner-up Wiggins. 

Rested and recovered from a 14-25, 22-25, 18-25 loss on day one to top-seeded Simla, the No. 8 Lady Tigers had to shake off a disappointing first set against No. 10 IHS, which traded points evenly from the outset until gaining a 7-6 edge when junior Maliyah Martinez willed a service ace through the top of the net. 

Taking the gift and running with it, the ’Cats grew their lead to 13-9 and, with junior libero Tarah Baker holding serve, increased it to a solid 19-10 as neither timeout called by WHS head coach Erin Kerr had its desired effect on her players. 

“Yeah, it was kind of the same thing that we struggled with yesterday, these slower starts that we’re having,” said Kerr, “and just kind of getting a little bit shell-shocked and back on our heels.” 

“It felt like yesterday we just weren’t getting things going, and then we did and fought back,” she continued. “They had a very quick-tempo game and when we matched it, we could keep up … but we kind of took plays off here and there. That was kind of our demise, and so today it was … try to get better and propel forward.” 

A 5-0 burst kept Wiggins alive, but errors allowed Ignacio to rebuild the lead to 22-15, then later reach set point via a Martinez ace of sophomore Kynley Yzaguirre, and ultimately lock up a 1-0 match lead via junior Lainee Bradley’s kill off of senior CharlieAnn Barrett. 

“We were really humbled by yesterday’s game, so we all were just very hungry and came to play,” said IHS junior Kelly Sirios, who began Set 2 on serve before WHS went wire-to-wire – shaking off consecutive Sirios aces bringing the ’Cats back to 11-8 – for a 25-16 win leveling the contest at a set apiece. 

The Lady Tigers then broke out to a 4-1 lead in Set 3 before Ignacio dug in and tied the score at 6-6. The ’Cats then went up 9-8 as part of a 5-0 run pressing Kerr into using a timeout.  But IHS’ lead steadily grew to 17-14 before Wiggins, ignited by a kill courtesy of junior middle Tenleigh Lorenzini, won eight of the next nine points and surged ahead, 22-18. 

WHS then reached set point, 24-19, via a kill by senior Brooke Schmidt, but junior libero Kellie Vicchrilli then netted a tip shot – and inadvertently set in motion perhaps IHS’ best comeback this fall. Moments later, Schmidt sailed an attack long and Kerr burned her second timeout of the set with Wiggins still up 24-22, but IHS senior Juliann Avila would block Yzaguirre not long after to re-tie the set at 24-24. 

Bradley then downed a kill, suddenly putting the ’Cats on set point, but after the Lady Tigers somehow fielded a solid Sirios serve, senior Kallie Green stopped Ignacio’s dramatic 6-0 run with a successful set dump. IHS sophomore Alleah Neil then rejected Schmidt, but sophomore Karsyn Kerr kept WHS alive with a kill after Bradley served. 

Lorenzini then tipped a ball out of bounds, but a net violation called against Ignacio overshadowed two spectacular Baker digs and gave the Lady Tigers yet another chance – of which they’d at last take full advantage. Martinez netted a defensive free ball, putting Wiggins on set point at 28-27, and sophomore Jaydin Busch then split diving ’Cats Bradley and Baker with an ace. 

“We had the momentum at that point,” Erin Kerr said, “it kind of carried over, and the girls started playing better.” 

“We’re taking our time – too much time – to analyze the (opposing) team and then make adjustments to where they’re scoring,” she noted. “So I think by Set 4 we had kind of done that.” 

But the ’Cats still had life and took a 3-1 lead in Set 4 via back-to-back Bradley aces of Karsyn Kerr, who was quickly – and smartly – substituted out before Bradley could strike again. Her next serve, however, went long, and two more Ignacio errors gave WHS a 4-3 lead. Senior Saria Hawkins then served wide of the far sideline, but a recharged Kerr then scored a go-ahead kill over IHS senior Alyssa Atencio, putting Vicchrilli on serve. 

A Kerr tip over Atencio kept her there, a vicious Lorenzini kill through IHS’ center followed, and Vicchrilli would hold serve until Busch netted an attack – giving the Volleycats ball in hand with the scoreboard showing Wiggins 18, Ignacio 5. 

“It’s a momentum, confidence thing at that point when you put them back on their heels,” said Erin Kerr. “Our next goal is defense, and keeping the ball alive longer than them; that’s exactly what we had to do to shut them down.” 

“We have a chip on our shoulder,” Vicchrilli said. “We got second last year, want the big trophy this year … so we’re here to take it. We’re here to win and I think that we have a big chance.” 

The Lady Tigers reached match point, 24-9, via an Yzaguirre kill off Sirios’ block, and though Schmidt then tipped a ball out of bounds, there’d be no second sterling comeback for IHS as Yzaguirre punctuated WHS’ 19-25, 25-16, 29-27, 25-10 victory with a kill off junior Reggi Gustafson’s block. 

“We got them out of system a lot and that allowed us to really amp it up,” said Sirios. “We just allowed our mental side to get to us; we just need to stay humble, instead of getting humbled.” 

Now 57-24 overall in boss Jennifer Seibel’s three years (her 50th win came on October 16 at 3A Pagosa Springs) at the helm, the 2025 ’Cats went out standing 21-6 overall – equaling the State-qualifying 2023 crew’s conquest count. 

Wiggins (20-8 overall), meanwhile, advanced to face 11-seed Vail Christian in the day’s scheduled 5 p.m. match, after the Edwards-based Lady Saints (21-5) started the day ousting No. 12 Yuma (13-15) in straight sets (25-19, 25-20, 25-13). 

“We’re at the State tournament, but we still have to get better every match, every set,” Kerr said. “That’s the goal. Learn from a mistake and move on quickly.”