The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Playing for district seed
The Crested Butte Lady Titans volleyball team hosted the fifth-ranked team in the state, the Sangre de Cristo Thunderbirds, on Saturday, October 13 and while it had the makings for an utter blowout, the Lady Titans still put up a good fight.
Not only is Sangre one of the top teams in the state, but also the game came at the end of Crested Butte’s annual October break, a week that can decimate any momentum Titans sports teams had garnered over the course of the season.
It just so happened, the Lady Titans put together a solid weekend of matches heading into the October break. The team carried that momentum into its three workouts during the break and their match against Sangre on Saturday.
Sangre sits atop the Southern Peaks league with an undefeated record while the Lady Titans sit in the middle of the pack with a record of 4-4.
Covey prepared her team by reminding them of what was at stake.
“I just told them that we have nothing to lose and Sangre has everything to lose,” says Covey. “It could be their last home game so I told them to come out swinging.”
Crested Butte opened the first set against Sangre de Cristo paced by strong serving from Courtney Kopf and a block and a kill from Sarah Sherman to take a quick 9-1 lead.
“I’ve never seen us come out that ready,” says Covey.
The effort forced the Sangre coach to call two timeouts in the first ten points of the game.
Following the second break, the Thunderbirds pulled together to chip away at the Lady Titans lead.
While Crested Butte’s passing was spot-on early in the first set, things started to fall apart for the Lady Titans as their passes and sets started missing their marks.
Sangre eventually tied the game 19-19 and then scored the next six points in a row to take the first set 25-19.
“I think the opening rally woke Sangre up and we started playing tentatively,” says Covey. “When you’re playing against a good team, you gotta close the door.”
Despite dropping the first set after taking an early lead, Covey kept her comments positive heading into the second set.
“I told them that they just proved they can compete with anybody,” says Covey.
Crested Butte opened the second game winning the first four points. Sangre tied it up and the two teams proceeded to trade off points, with neither team mounting any significant rally.
Down 19-16, the Lady Titans pulled off three big points when Kopf scored with a quick tip, the Lady Titans closed out a big rally between the two teams with another point and Sherman served an ace to tie it up 19-19.
Crested Butte continued to bounce back, tying the game 22-22 before Sangre finished it off, scoring the final three points to win 25-22.
“Our defense was similar to what I saw out of them earlier in the season when they just refused to quit,” says Covey. “Sangre has some big hitters and Rosie Ewert really stepped up her play as the libero.”
After two hard-fought sets, the Lady Titans eventually succumbed to Sangre’s constant pressure, dropping the final set 25-13 to lose the match.
“You lose two close ones to a good team and it’s hard to come back,” says Covey. “I was happy. I thought we competed and played hard.”
The Lady Titans will finish the regular season Friday, October 19 on the road against Antonito. If the Lady Titans win, they could host a district game on Monday, October 22 in Mt. Olympus.
“If I can get that effort they had against Sangre in the next week, we could surprise some teams,” says Covey.
