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Volleyball Finishes With a Great Effort

A hard loss ends a strong season for Spartan Volleyball.

By Phillip Karlberg

    Despite a strong season from the Thomas Jefferson volleyball team, the year ended on a sour note when the girls lost both of their tournament games on Saturday, October 27th.
In their first game, the TJ girls lost to Broomfield three games to none. Although the Spartans started off well, they gradually lost steam as the match went on. In the first game they were defeated 18-25. The second game was very similar, and ended in a final score of 16-25 for Broomfield. In the third and final game, TJ lost by a decisive score of 12-25.
    After Broomfield, the Spartans battled the Longmont Trojans. With a record of 19-4, the outlook was bleak. The first game set the pace of the match with a final score of 16-25. The second game also ended in a hard loss of 25-13. The match was ended when the Trojans crushed the Spartans with a score of 12-25.
    Although Saturday was a loss on paper, the Spartan girls fought valiantly. They put forth their best effort and represented TJ in the best way. The girls proved to be a strong team all season, as they were among the top ranked in the Denver Prep League.  Read more

Tennis Comes to an End

TJ Tennis finishes another solid season.

By Keenan Moore

    The boys' tennis team completed their season on a positive note this year, having a total record of 5-4.  This year proved to be a good all around season for the boys, as they improved in all aspects of their game.  They were led by the strong effort of number one single Justin Blackburn.  This being his final year as a TJ tennis player, it proved to be an emotional season, as the Spartans brought their A game to every match.
     The number one doubles pair, PJ Sleichter and Mitch Montgomery, were both successful, as they won the majority of their matches together.  This is PJ’s third year at TJ and Mitch’s second, which means that they will be together again for another successful season next year.
     The team brought some of their best athletes to compete in the regionals competition. The people who had the chance to go to the competition were Andrew Briss and Jack Bain along with Blackburn, Sleichter, and Montgomery. While they all were not very successful in their matches, they showed great effort all the way to the end.  “I think it was a honor to just be able to go and play against all sorts of players from all different parts of the Denver area,” said Blackburn.
     The sky is the limit for the boys’ tennis team next year.  They will lose Blackburn, but number two single Robert Lampert is ready and willing to step up to the challenge.  They will have the same number one doubles combination, and will hopefully get a few new freshman on the team that are ready to work their way up to the top. Read more

Volleyball Crushes Kennedy

The Volleyball girls get a league win against the Commanders.

By Phillip Karlberg

    On Friday night, the Thomas Jefferson girls’ volleyball team smashed Kennedy three games to none, bringing their record to eight wins and nine losses. Despite the success of the varsity team, both JV and the C-Team lost.
    During the first game it became very clear who had the better team.  The Spartans were hot from the beginning and jumped ahead to an amazing 17-0 lead.  Eventually Kennedy gained a few points of their own, but the game ended in a score of 25-9.
    In the second game Kennedy began to pick up steam.  Although they did better in the second round, they could not stop the Spartan onslaught and lost with a decisive final score of 25-14.
    The third and final game was the closest.  Kennedy jumped ahead and for much of the game was in the lead.  The TJ girls looked to have lost their edge, but eventually recovered and pulled away to a 25-18 win. Read more

Volleyball Slides Past South

TJ Girls volleyball gets a big win against the Rebels.

by Phillip Karlberg

    The Thomas Jefferson Girls’ volleyball team cleanly beat the South Rebels three games to none on Tuesday night.
    Despite the lopsided match score, every game was very close. In the first game, the Spartans won by only four points with a final score of 25-21.  The second game was even closer, as TJ pulled out a 25-23 win. In the last and final game, the Spartans and Rebels battled to a final score of 25-22.
    Up to this game, TJ and South were tied for first place in the Denver Prep League.  Now that the girls have beat their biggest rivals, it looks as if the Spartans are the best in the city.  The Volleyball program has sure turned the season around after a rough start at the beginning of the year.  It looks as if the girls will be able to make a strong run in the playoffs, looking really good coming out of the regular season.

Volleyball Fights to the End Against East

The East Angels take 3-0 a win against the TJ volleyball girls.

By Phillip Karlberg

    Despite their heroic efforts, the Thomas Jefferson volleyball could not quite manage a win against the East Angels on Thursday night.  All three levels, C-team, JV and Varsity lost 3-0.
    In the first game, East pulled out to a strong lead of 4-9 despite the effort of the Spartan girls.  TJ responded by fighting back to a near tie of 11-12, helped by several strong serves and digs by senior Aubrey Becker.  East responded in turn by pulling away to a score of 13-17 but after a decisive block by Ashley Morrison, the Spartans brought it back to a score of 19-21.  Then the girlsran out of steam and East pulled away to win 25-20.
    In the second game, the two teams stayed neck and neck throughout the first part of the game.  Eventually TJ gained the lead with a score of 5-4.  Unfortunately, the celebrations were short lived when East responded by rallying back to a strong 11-5 lead.  Despite the intense volleys back and forth for the rest of the game, luck was on the side of East as they won with a final score of 25-14. Read more

Volleyball Overpowers Montbello

TJ volleyball sails though another district win.

by Phillip Karlberg

    The Thomas Jefferson Girls’ Volleyball Team pulled off an easy win against Montbello on Friday night, beating the Warriors in three games. The JV and C-Team took their matches, as well.
    The girls turned on the heat from the very beginning and raced to a 12-2 lead in the first game. After a 20-4 lead, the Warriors began a slight comeback but were then crushed when senior Ashley Morrison made a decisive kill followed by an ace serve to end the game 25-11.
    The second game followed a very similar tone. The Warriors pulled away at the beginning, with an early 4-2 lead, but the Spartans then reeled them in with a solid streak that put them up 10-4. The Warriors lost their spirit and ultimately lost the second game 25-12.
    In the third and final game, the Warrior girls seemed to be a completely different team and the outcome was very uncertain until the end. Montbello jumped to an early lead and stayed ahead for most of the game, but the lady Spartans eventually tied it up at 17 and then began to pull ahead. Putting all doubts aside, the TJ girls then finished off the match with a 20-17 win. Read more

Spartans Dominate West

The volleyball girls win in three games over the Cowboys.

By Phillip Karlberg

     Despite a close final game, the TJ varsity and junior varsity volleyball team effortlessly overran the Cowboys of West on Monday night, winning three games to none.
     The first game was a clear indicator of how the night would turn out, when the lady Spartans won with a final score of 25-11.  In the second game West improved their play, but still were defeated 18-25.  In the third and final game the Cowboy’s stepped it up, and for a while it was uncertain who would win.  Eventually the Spartan girls finished them off with a final score of 25-23.
With yet another victory, the TJ volleyball team looks to improve their record from is 5 wins and 8 losses.  It looks as if the girls have a good shot to turn the season around.  Their next game is at TJ against Montbello at 7:00 on Friday, October 5. 

Volleyball Spikes the Patriots

TJ Volleyball gets a big win against George Washington.

By Phillip Karlberg

The Thomas Jefferson girls volleyball team pulled off a strong win against the George Washington Patriots on Monday night, winning three games to none.
    Intense would be the best way to describe the match as a whole. From the very beginning the Spartans set the pace. In the first game the TJ girls pulled off a strong win 25-21. In the second game the girls won again with an identical score of 25-21. For the third and last game it looked as if the GW girls might come back, but ultimately TJ took the game 25-22. Unfortunately, both the JV and C-team lost to the Patriots.
    Several of the Spartan girls really stood out among the team. Ashley Morrison rallied the Spartan girls with spike after spike. Also, Aubrey Becker played like a true Spartan and gave her team the edge with a long string of aces in the second game. Also, sophomore Andrea Shacklock primed the team for the win with her skillful sets. Read more

Two Tough Losses for Volleyball

TJ Volleyball continues slow start to the season.

by Philip Karlberg

Despite their best efforts, the TJ girls' volleyball team was not quite able to pull off a win against Hinkley or Palmer, losing both matches 3 games to none.
     Friday night’s game against Hinkley ended in a crushing defeat. The first game set the pace for the rest of the night when the TJ girls played well, but were always on the defensive with Hinkley attacking play after play. The Spartan girls rallied after three powerful spikes by Ashley Morrison, but ultimately were unable to make any headway against Hinkley. TJ ended up losing the match three games to none.
     On Thursday night, the TJ girls battled it out against Palmer, and although the matches were much closer and more intense, they didn't get the results they were hoping for. Despite their final scores, the first two games were intense from start to finish. 
     In the first game Palmer jumped away with a big lead of 6-1. The girls battled back and fourth but things began to look very grim once the score reached 20-10 in favor of Palmer. The TJ girls began a true Spartan comeback with four decisive points in a row but were cut off at a final score of 25-17.  Read more

A Painful Loss for TJ Volleyball

Standley Lake Gators shut down the Spartan volleyball machine.

by Philip Karlberg

The Thomas Jefferson volleyball team suffered a harsh loss Wednesday night when they were swept by the Standley Gators.

Both C-team and JV went 0-2, and the varsity team was shut out with three losses in a row. The TJ girls put up their best fight in the first game. With Sage Severson back from her injury from the previous Friday, the squad was back to its full strength. The two teams battled back and forth for most of the first game. Although it looked like they still had a chance, the Spartans ended up losing 18-25.

This loss seemed to take all the spirit out of the team as, despite their best efforts, they went on to lose 10-25 in the second game. This defeat knocked the wind out of the girls, setting up the third and final game which did not go much better.

Standley jumped out to an early lead with a score of 0-5. The TJ girls rallied for a couple of points, but then were shut down again. Just before the game was over, the girls made one last attempt for a comeback with a four-point streak, but ultimately were beat 25-9.

The volleyball squad's next match is at TJ vs. Skyview on Friday September 7, with the C-team playing at 4:30pm, JV at 6:00pm, and the varsity at 7:00pm.

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