AURORA — Numbers mean nothing to Discovery Canyon boys’ volleyball; at least, not in the negative sense.

When CHSAA’s RPI ranking system slotted the Thunder fourth in the state, they took it as a reason to prove people wrong. And they took another step in the right direction Friday with a 3-0 (25-17, 25-12, 25-18) win over top-seeded Cherry Creek.

Off the bus, the rankings made sense.

Without watching the teams play, the Bruins clearly displayed a big, physical team with size all across the net. Discovery Canyon, also a larger team, wasn’t able to say it had the same stature.

So, the Thunder avoided going over the Bruins, and instead went through them.

In the second set, senior Josh Livergood spiked back-to-back balls into middle blockers’ heads — forcing a timeout and serving as a microcosm of the game.

“It’s a challenge, but it’s so fun to go against,” junior Ty Heater. “When you see it at the net, you just take it as a chance to go at them. We wanted to stay humble but prove ourselves.”

Heater was a standout of the match. Seniors Cade Zippwald and Livergood were, too, once again.

Coming into the tournament, a lack of challenges across the league capped how much the Thunder could show of their depth of talent. Senior Ryan Hansen, like his fellow starters, is capable of doing several things well.

When the Bruins lined up against the net, the measurables were nice, but Discovery Canyon knew it had an advantage in volleyball skills. As the Thunder went on run after run, the top seed pulled players off and put them back on — attempting to find any formula that could work.

“During timeouts, I told my guys that they didn’t know how to stop us, and to keep going,” coach Wayne Wetherby said. “That just pumps the guys up when they see that — when they see a team making a bunch of subs and being on the ropes.”

The 5A boys’ volleyball tournament is set up in a simple way: Win four matches, and the hardware is yours. Any losses, and the road gets bumpy.

Through 72 sets, the Thunder have yet to yield one to an opponent en route to a 25-0 record. They knew, driving the longest distance of any team to get to Overland High School, they were coming into enemy territory.

Bear Creek, rumored to be the other top team, lost to Legend in the quarterfinals as the Thunder were wrapping up their win. The Titans now stand between Discovery Canyon and a berth in the state title game for the first time.

It may end up facing Bear Creek in that match. Or even Cherry Creek once again if it comes up through the loser’s bracket.

Heater will tell you, the team wants to be humble. But they also know how good they are — how good they’ve been all year.

Now, it’s about finishing the fight.