SIMLA, Colo. — The Simla volleyball team is heading into this weekend's state tournament with a chance to win back-to-back state championships — and the defending champs say they're not interested in talking about the streak that got them there.
Watch below: Our story on the Simla volleyball team
After dropping its season opener, Simla responded with a dominant run through the rest of the regular season without dropping another set.
"We obviously came off a really successful season last year. Whether you call that pressure or not, pressure is a privilege, right? Everybody's gonna bring their best," head coach Kelly Kocerha said.
The opening loss could have rattled the defending champions. Instead, players say it changed them.
"The emotions afterwards was like, 'That's not going to happen again. We're going to work as hard as we possibly can.' I felt a mental shift there and I think our mentality is a lot better now," Haylee Easler said.
Coach Kelly Kochera said losing early in the season may have been exactly what her team needed.
"We're competitors and we hate to say hey maybe it was a really good thing for us because nobody likes losing. It was a really good thing for us and you learn so much about yourself and your group from a loss and so I think it really drove them to just a higher level," Kochera said.
As the wins piled up, something unusual happened inside the gym — no one talked about the streak.
"We're not too big on the streaks. We just want our next challenge, and we're always striving to become better," Ava Leininger said.
"I really just don't think we care about it. Like we all know the job's not done yet, and we just have further to go," Easler added.
23 straight wins and 67 straight sets may illustrate just how dominant Simla has been, but Carlee Cox said only one number will define how this season ends.
"Our main goal at the end is to win a state championship, not how many games we've won in the season," Cox said.
The defending champions are back at the state tournament with the same goal as a year ago — only this time, they're the team everyone is trying to catch.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.