Aspen High volleyball on doorstep of hosting regional playoff games
Skiers will close out regular season on Saturday at Moffat
Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times
Motivating the players has been an easy task for Aspen High School volleyball coach David Chadbourne. It’s been as simple as dangling that carrot of possibly hosting a home playoff game in the coming weeks.
“We are really excited about that,” he said after Thursday’s 3-0 sweep of Basalt. “The message to the kids has been we are still in it to possibly host for the first time in maybe 20 years, something like that. A crazy amount of time anyway. That’s been the motivation for the girls is to try and finish strong and be able to host a playoff game this year.”
With the MaxPreps archives only going back as far as the 2007 season, it’s not immediately clear when the last time AHS volleyball hosted a playoff game, but it’s not believed to have been recent.
Following last week’s win over the Longhorns, Aspen is 17-5 overall, the most wins for the program since going 17-6 in 2021 under coach Brittany Zanin. As the No. 23 seed, AHS lost in the regional final that year at No. 2 and eventual state runner-up Lamar.
The Skiers’ regular-season finale is Saturday, a 2 p.m. road game at Moffat County. An 18th win would match that of the 2018 team coached by Bailey Holmes that finished 18-7 and lost as the No. 19 seed in the regional final at No. 6 Valley.
AHS went 13-11 last fall, its first season with Chadbourne as head coach. Prior to being an AHS assistant coach, he had led the BHS program for about five years. The Skiers did make regional play in 2024 as the No. 28 seed; they upset No. 16 Cedaredge before losing to the host, No. 9 Peak to Peak.
“We’ve done well against some pretty good programs, so that has kind of helped us to get to where we are,” Chadbourne said of the Skiers’ success this fall. “I knew we would do pretty well. We wanted to come in and take league this year. That unfortunately probably isn’t going to happen for us. Gunnison also had a big year.”
Aspen’s only loss in 3A Western Slope League play this season came Oct. 9 at Gunnison, 3-1. AHS had beaten Gunnison in a non-league tournament game a month prior, winning 2-1. Now 13-5 overall, Gunnison has already finished league play at 9-0 and will represent as the league champion. They still have a few non-league games this week.
AHS will finish second in league, but it’s the CHSAA seeding index number that truly matters. This magic concoction of data largely determines postseason seeding, with the top 12 teams in 3A getting to host regionals (which is capped at 36 teams divided into three-team pods). The 12 regional champions advance to the state tournament a week later.
As of Sunday afternoon, AHS was No. 9 in the 3A seeding index. Assuming the Skiers beat Moffat (4-17, 1-6) on Saturday, a finish inside the top 10 is likely for Aspen. Gunnison was ranked No. 11, with Coal Ridge at No. 17.
Alamosa was No. 1, followed by No. 2 Eaton, No. 3 Resurrection Christian, No. 4 Forge Christian, No. 5 Bayfield, No. 6 Stargate School, No. 7 Sterling, and No. 8 Centauri.
Basalt (5-9, 4-5 league), coached by Naomi Santiago, was No. 39 and still in the regional mix. The Longhorns have more games remaining this week, including a home date with Grand Junction on Monday (6 p.m. start).
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Aspen High School volleyball’s Autumn Sherwin serves against Basalt on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025, inside the AHS gymnasium. The Skiers won, 3-0.
Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times
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The Aspen High School volleyball team hosts Basalt on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025, inside the AHS gymnasium. The Skiers won, 3-0.
Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times
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Aspen High School volleyball’s Belle Sinclair serves against Basalt on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025, inside the AHS gymnasium. The Skiers won, 3-0.
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Aspen High School volleyball’s Autumn Sherwin goes on the offensive against Basalt on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025, inside the AHS gymnasium. The Skiers won, 3-0.
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Aspen High School volleyball defenders, left, rise up in a block attempt against Basalt on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025, inside the AHS gymnasium. The Skiers won, 3-0.
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The Aspen High School volleyball team, front court, goes on the offensive against Basalt on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025, inside the AHS gymnasium. The Skiers won, 3-0.
Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times
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Aspen High School’s Autumn Sherwin, left, meets Basalt’s Lilly Archibeque at the net in their volleyball match on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025, inside the AHS gymnasium. The Skiers won, 3-0.
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Aspen High School volleyball junior Andrea Lee sends the ball back over the net against Basalt on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025, inside the AHS gymnasium. The Skiers won, 3-0.
Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times
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Aspen High School volleyball’s Belle Sinclair, left, walks off the court alongside teammate Brooke Jewell against Basalt on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025, inside the AHS gymnasium. The Skiers won, 3-0.
Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times
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Basalt High School volleyball’s Jo Becker, right, and Lilly Archibeque celebrate a point against Aspen on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025, inside the AHS gymnasium. The Skiers won, 3-0.
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Basalt High School volleyball’s Lily Fitzgerald, right, eyes the ball against Aspen on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025, inside the AHS gymnasium. The Skiers won, 3-0.
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Aspen High School volleyball’s Andrea Lee, back, serves against Basalt on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025, inside the AHS gymnasium. The Skiers won, 3-0.
Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times
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Basalt High School volleyball’s Lilly Archibeque bumps the ball to a teammate against Aspen on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025, inside the AHS gymnasium. The Skiers won, 3-0.
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An Aspen High School volleyball player serves against Basalt on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025, inside the AHS gymnasium. The Skiers won, 3-0.
Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times
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Basalt High School volleyball libero Sydney Barill bumps the ball to a teammate against Aspen on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025, inside the AHS gymnasium. The Skiers won, 3-0.
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Basalt High School volleyball’s Jo Becker goes down for a dig against Aspen on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025, inside the AHS gymnasium. The Skiers won, 3-0.
Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times
Roaring Fork (8-13, 5-5) was No. 45 and likely too far afield to make the postseason.
The 3A regional brackets are expected to come out a week from Monday, which would be Nov. 3, with the regional games to be played that following weekend.
As exciting as possibly hosting playoff games this season is, it could just be the start for the Skiers. Aspen’s MaxPreps roster as of Sunday includes nine juniors and two sophomores, with no seniors.
“They are a young team, but they love to play volleyball,” Chadbourne said. “They always beat me to practice, and they want me to stay after practice every time. Those are intangibles you can’t really coach; they already have it. They are good. They are very invested.”
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