Titan spikers’ roller coaster continues its ups and downs

Host Center this Thursday, September 23 at 4 p.m.

One would think when a team gets an opportunity to avenge a frustrating loss that team would be ready to play. Last Friday, the Titan volleyball team had that chance when they hosted the Sanford Indians since the Titans had endured a humiliating loss just one week earlier. Instead, Titans came out flat and played without passion, dropping the match in three straight sets.
Passing was weak, with too many unforced errors and most of Titan hitters were not able to find the court. All but one of the leading hitters had more errors than kills; the team missed seven serves and had no service aces against the Indians. The underwhelming performance was a disappointment to players, fans and coaches.
Saturday, the Titans hit the road for a double header against Sierra Grande and league opponent Sargent. The first match was against the Sierra Grande Panthers. Unfortunately, the Titans who hit the court in the first set looked similar to the Titan team who played on Friday night.
The Titans started at a lethargic pace and with little intensity. The Titans allowed the Panthers to take the first set 25-18. Then senior co-captain Karleigh Dean stepped up as a leader and increased her intensity and showed the Titans how to play hard on every play. The rest of the Titans followed her lead and began to play as a team instead of just six players on a court.
Senior Shannon Holleran stepped up her game and served nine in a row finishing off the set with a 25-14 win. The third set the Titans continued to gel with senior Asya Stillo serving six points with two aces as a team won 25-16 and then finished off the Panthers in the fourth set 25-15.
Karleigh Dean and Shannon Holleran lead the team with 12 kills each and sophomore Sara Sherman and junior Toni Brown each contributed six kills in the match.
Next on the schedule was a match with host team the Sargent Farmers. Sargent has consistently produced a strong team in the Southern Peaks League, finishing near the top of the league every year. The senior-led club this year proved to be no different.
The Farmers hit the court fired-up and the Titans intensity finally ignited and the battle began. Once again, Holleran got the Titans rolling with a seven-point serving run, frustrating the Farmers and putting the Titans in the lead in the first set. Gradually, the Farmers clawed back into the set and the Titans eventually dropped a tough first set 24-26.
It seemed the strong play and intensity the Titans established in the first set may have finally shown each player that the Titans have the talent and ability to compete and be successful with any team in the Southern Peaks 2A League. The second set continued to provide long rallies and outstanding defensive plays on both sides of the net with Holleran and Dean providing points from strong serving. The Titans dropped the second set 21-25, but showed no signs of quitting, battling each point with the Farmers.
The third set proved to be the break-through set for Crested Butte. The Titans started off with the 3-0 lead and held on to the lead with some key kills at points 15 and 17 by sophomore Sara Sherman and Holleran. The Titans mixed up their offense and kept the Farmers guessing between hard spikes and well-placed tips. The Titans took the third set 25-22. Since the Titans have struggled to practice and play at a high sustained level of intensity with any consistency all year, in the fourth set the team softened a bit and gave up some easier points to the Farmers. The Titans dropped the fourth set 13-25.
While the Titans did not win the match, hopefully the Titans finally learned that they have the skill and ability to play as a team and compete and be successful in the more competitive Southern Peaks 2A league. Every player on the team needs to work hard to increase their intensity and their focus day in and day out.
The Titans host the Center Vikings in their second to last home match on Thursday, September 23 with junior varsity starting a 4 p.m. and varsity immediately after at 5 p.m. The Titans then hit the road on Saturday to play league-leading LaVeta.