The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Fall from playoffs in first round
The Crested Butte Titans volleyball team was looking to wrap up the regular season with a win and host the first round of district play. Unfortunately, things did not go as planned.
The Titans lost a tough five-set match to Antonito on Friday, October 19, which dropped the team to seventh place in the league and forced them to hit the road to face the sixth-place Sierra Grande Panthers in Blanca for the first district match.
The format of the first round of district volleyball is simple: win and move on to the district tournament; lose and the season is over. Earlier in the season, the Titans lost to the Panthers for the first time in team history in four sets. A six-versus-seven match-up should have provided a fun match for players and fans who made the trek, but to steal a victory in the tough Panther pit would prove a difficult challenge.
The tempo of the night was established in the first set with countless extended rallies and great effort by the Panthers and Titans. The players understood what was at stake and the Titans rolled out strong with a victory in the first set 25-18. Sophomore Brittany Barefield put on a serving show in the first set and served seven of the Titans’ points.
The Titans fell off in the next set giving up some easy points, losing 13-25 but battled again to win the third set 25-20. Changing sides of the court was beginning to appear a bit of a jinx because the Titans dropped the fourth set 17-25.
Now it would all come down to a fifth and final set to determine who would continue the season and who be done for the year. The final set consisted of even longer rallies and side out after side out for both teams. After the first five players rotated through the service line the Titans had a slight 9-6 edge.
The sixth Panther server proved troublesome, though. All set the Titans held the Panthers to no more than two points in a rally, but this time the Titans dropped six gut-wrenching points in a row to fall behind 9-12. Refusing to fold, the Titans continued to battle back to 11-13 before losing the final set 12-15 which put an end to the season with an 8-11 record.
Appropriately, in the final set senior co-captain Sara Sherman had eight blocks and led the teams with six kills. As a hint of the future, several younger players stepped up and played hard all match. Junior Ali McGuire played a consistent match with attacking and only two hitting errors and also provided solid passing throughout the match. Juniors Monika Olesen and Suzanna Dumas each had four blocks and four kills. Defensive specialist junior Rosie Ewert passed and dug ball after ball in the extended rallies to keep the Titans alive throughout the season.
Looking ahead, the graduation of seniors Cassidy Dodds and Sara Sherman, each with three years of starting varsity experience, will be felt. Still, seven of the 12 Titan varsity players earned their first varsity volleyball letters this season. Furthermore, the coaches utilized a number of younger players in a variety of positions and line-ups throughout the season to give them key varsity experience early on.
If the players mentally decide to convert that experience they can set the tone for next season. With continued commitment in the off season, mental focus and determination, the Titan volleyball program should continue to move forward in their goals to being a competitive team in the Southern Peaks League.
