For some prep volleyball teams just reaching the state championships is the apex of the season.

Not for Glenwood Springs.

“We’ve come this far,” said the Demons Celeste Cashel. “And we don’t want to lose it now.”

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That’s a statement with which the 27-0 Demons all agree.

Beginning with today’s pool play matches at the Denver Coliseum, the Demons get their chance to become the 2003 Class 4A state champion.

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Matches start with pool play at 8 a.m.

“That has been our goal all year,” said Glenwood first-year coach Denise Greene of becoming one of the two teams to make the 5 p.m., 4A championship match on Saturday.

“It’s not enough to just get there,” the coach added. “The girls focus is on more, and that helps us.”

That focus propelled Glenwood to an undefeated season to date, while earning league, district and regional titles along the way.

“It’s amazing,” said outside hitter Amber Sutherland of the team’s season. “Some people don’t get this chance. The fact we get a second chance to go back to state and represent Glenwood Springs is such an honor. I can’t wait.”

Sutherland and Cashel were sophomores on Glenwood’s 2001 team, which made the 4A tournament, then were eliminated in pool play.

“This time it’s a lot more exciting, because I’m playing,” said Cashel, the Demons starting setter for the past two seasons.

As with all the teams that qualified for the state tournament, Glenwood has a formidable task ahead to get to the finals.

Although the Demons are seeded second among the eight teams in pool play, the other squads in Glenwood’s pool are no pushovers.

Joining the Demons in Pool II are Montezuma-Cortez (25-1) from the Southwestern League, Cheyenne Mountain (22-5), a team Glenwood defeated in last week’s regionals, and Lewis-Palmer (25-2), which was the state’s No. 1 team in 4A through most of the regular season.

The top two teams in pool play advance to Saturday’s semifinals.

In the semis, the Pool I champion plays the runner-up from Pool II and the Pool II champ faces the Pool I runner-up.

Teams in Pool I include No. 1 seed Mountain View (27-0), the only other team in 4A other than Glenwood with an undefeated record, Ralston Valley at 26-1, plus Sterling and Windsor, both with 22-5 records.