The Haxtun-Fleming Herald - What can we reason but from what we know? -Alexander Pope

When teams take the floor for the start of 2023 State Volleyball championships on Thursday, the Haxtun Lady Bulldogs will be one to 12 qualifiers in 1A action. The Lady Bulldogs punched their ticket to the State Tournament with a sweep over Belleview Christian at home in Regional action Friday night.

The three set win at home last week in Regional play gives the Lady Bulldogs the number nine seed heading into State Championships this week. Haxtun is set to face off with eighth ranked Dove Creek on Thursday morning at 8 a.m. at the Denver Coliseum.

The Lady Bulldogs earned home court advantage for Regionals, pitting them in a match up with the Bruins from Belleview Christian. Haxtun took a commanding 25-15 win in set one and a 25-19 victory in set two. The home team punched their ticket to State with a 25-13 win in set three, ending the Lady Bruins 2023 season.

Senior Cassidy Goddard had an outstanding night at the net with 14 kills and no errors. She had a .667 attack percentage in her final outing on the Lady Bulldog's home court. Junior Bobbi Starkebaum put six kills on the floor followed by junior Maggie Kilgour with four and senior Megan Walker and junior Jayleigh Bullard, each with three.

Walker and Goddard each registered one block at the net.

Sophomore Lilly Lemesany led behind the service line. She registered five aces from 24 serve attempts throughout the three set win. Walker added three aces, senior Julia Freeman sent over two and juniors Emily Anderson and Kelsie Hadeen each tallied one.

Freeman, Anderson and Goddard all went 100 percent from behind the serving line against Belleview Christian.

Hadeen put 17 assists up to Haxtun hitters, leading the team in sets. Walker registered 12 in her last home game as a Lady Bulldog.

In the back row, Freeman led with digs, tallying nine for the night. Walker, Hadeen and Goddard each registered six and Anderson dug up five. On serve receive, Goddard had 22 passes from the back row. Freeman tallied seven, Lemesany and Anderson each had five.

Lilly Lemesany

2023 Volleyball State Championships are slated for Thursday, Friday and Saturday at the Denver Coliseum. Haxtun takes the court first thing Thursday morning against Dove Creek. According to MaxPreps, the Lady Bulldogs from Dove Creek are currently 22-2 with losses to Alamosa and Mancos in August and September. The team earned a State slot with a sweep over DeBeque in Regionals.

A win over Dove Creek would pit the Lady Bulldogs in a match up with Merino later in the day. Merino sits as the number one team in 1A action. Haxtun recently faced off with the Lady Rams, losing in four sets in the final regular season home game just two weeks ago. For a complete and live 1A State Volleyball bracket, visit the Colorado High School Activities Association website.