Titan volleyball suffers tough loss at home

Look to weekend matches to find cohesion

The Titan volleyball team hosted their final regular season home match against the tough league-leading Mountain Valley Indians. The Titans started off with a bang and jumped out to an early lead in the first set against the Indians, but then just as quickly lost their rhythm and then struggled the rest of the evening to play together as a team. The first half the season the Titans established themselves as a solid serving team averaging 89 percent and with an average of seven service errors per match. In the last three matches, the team percentage has dropped to 81 percent and an average of 16 service errors per match. As the season progresses and opponents get tougher a team’s ability to limit unforced errors becomes more critical.
The Titans lost the first two sets 18-25 and 25-17. The third game the Titans showed they had some grit and despite lacking cohesiveness they fought to win a tight set 25-23. In the fourth set, the teams battled back and forth but the Titans ultimately fell to a more determined Indian team 20-25. Overall the Titans served 80 percent and committed 15 service errors on the night.
In the match, senior Sydney Lloyd led the team with 12 kills and served 100 percent on the evening. Senior Hillari Spencer returned to the line up after an ankle injury sidelined her for two weeks and shared setter duties with Sydney Jernigan. Junior defensive specialist Asya Stillo made some great defensive plays giving the Titans opportunities to attack the Indians. The normally solid servers Kelsey Beltz and Karleigh Dean struggled from behind the line, but both played strong at the net each had five blocks and three kills. Junior Shannon Holleran served strong at 95 percent provided a match high 13 points for the Titans. The second league loss to the Indians means the Titans currently occupy second place in the Southern Peaks League and have a 10-3 overall record.
Next weekend is another pivotal five-match weekend that will determine if the Titans remain in second place in the overall league standings, which in turn ties to the Titans post-season district seating. The Titans begin the weekend at Moffat on Friday, October 9, and then travel to Blanca for final mini-league tournament at Sierra Grande on Saturday where they will play Holy Trinity, Aguilar, Centennial and Primero before taking a few days off during the school’s autumn break.