Often, the big end-of-season goals go unspoken through the grinding early season practices and matches. By the time November rolls around, the goals become more imminent, and those big aspirations finally take shape.

For Dove Creek, the goal has been clear – to make the 1A state championships for the third straight year. On Friday night on their home court, the Bulldogs made sure that there wouldn’t be any doubt.

In their Region 8 match against No. 17 DeBeque, Dove Creek blasted the Dragons 3-0 to qualify for the state tournament in Denver to be held on Nov. 9-11.

The Bulldogs picked up their 11th straight match victory via sweep, easing past DeBeque (15-9) 25-17, 25-13, 25-21. The win earned head coach Lacey Murphy’s team their 16th straight win overall.

Now, led by a trio of seniors, Dove Creek will once again look to make plenty of noise in the 1A field after a strong showing in 2022. The Bulldogs and the rest of the 12 teams that compromise the 1A field will learn their assignments in the coming days.