 Coronado High volleyballers vs. Longmont during regional play Nov. 5 in the Coronado gym... Latika Clanton (15) leaps for a shot against a wall of defenders. Teammates are Jessica McCallum (6) and Demi Coca (8). Westside Pioneer photo
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Coached by Don Lash, the Coronado contingent (24-2) will be among eight schools competing for the state trophy. It marks the first time since 2002 that the Cougars have gotten this far. They are seeded #5.
Coronado hosted the regional event, winning their first two matches (over Montrose and Green Mountain) without losing a game before falling to Longmont, 3 games to 1.
The only other school Coronado has lost to this year - Cheyenne Mountain - will also be at state.
“Longmont played well, but we didn't play our best,” Lash said. “We'll just have to regroup.” He is sure that will happen. “After Cheyenne Mountain [their first loss], they bounced back real well.”
In his first year at Coro-nado, Lash has coached 33 years in all, including 18 at Palmer. He said he had actually retired before coming back as an assistant coach last year at Harrison.
The seeds for his coming to the Westside school were sewn when Harrison played Coronado last year. “They seemed like a good group of girls,” Lash said. “I thought I could work with them.”
 Coronado High volleyballers vs. Longmont during regional play Nov. 5 in the Coronado gym... Erica Lambert (9) scores a "kill." Teammates are Serina Nickle (13), Shelby Austin (5) and Julie Ward (4). The Cougars ended up losing to Longmont, 3 games to 1, in just their second match loss of the year. However, their two regional match wins qualified them for the state championships Nov. 11-12 in Denver. Westside Pioneer photo
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The Coronado players are Tatianna Clanton, Julie Ward, Shelby Austin, Jessica McCallum, Madison Darby-McClure, Demi Coca, Erica Lambert, Savannah Telander, Emily Ransom, Serina Nickle and Latika Clanton.
Westside Pioneer article