The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Five matches in one day
Heading into the opening weekend of play with an experienced team, hopes were high among the coaching staff that the Titans would finish the five-match tournament 5-0, or at least 4-1.
But as head coach Marla Covey admitted, “I like to set the bar high.”
Still, even with an experienced team, first match of the season jitters were on display against Elbert. With seven service errors in the first set, the Titans managed to play solid defense and smart offense to stay in the first set before finally losing 26-24. Junior setter Courtney Kopf changed the serving tide in the second set, serving 13 of the 25 points. Kopf’s effort helped the rest of the team find their groove, with a 25-17 win to force a third and deciding set.
The third set was a back and forth battle. The Titans finally took charge with a crucial run near the end to win the first match of the season 15-11. Senior outside hitter Ali McGuire led the Titans with six kills, followed by senior middle hitter Suzanna Dumas with four kills.
Despite being scheduled to face Vanguard in the second match of the day, tournament officials tweaked the schedule and the Titans faced Cripple Creek instead. Striving to play at a higher level consistently rather than at the level of their opponent, the Titans started strong with senior Rosie Ewert served nine points in the first set including seven points in a row to take control of the set. The Titans worked to take advantage of the Pioneers providing multiple free balls, to practice running some of their offensive set plays and took the match in two sets 25-13 and 25-12.
The Kodiaks were the tallest team Crested Butte would match up against all day. Rather than fold to the Kodiaks’ impressive height, the Titans started the match with a powerful block on the Kodiak big middle hitter, which seemed to surprise the Kodiaks. The Kodiaks rolled over their opponents in their first two matches but the Titans’ solid defense kept the Kodiaks confused. While the Titans stepped up their level of play, putting together runs proved difficult. Strong defensive plays by both Dumas at the net with some key blocks and some strong digs by Rosie Ewert, Ali McGuire and Miki Olesen provided the fans with some great rallies. Despite the defensive efforts of the Titans, the Kodiaks proved too powerful in the end, beating Crested Butte in two straight sets 17-25, 19-25.
The Titans then took the court against the McClave Cardinals. The Cardinals come from the tough eastern plains where ball sports, not mountain sports, reign supreme. Titans battled with scrappy play but showed a lack of focus and could not seem to capitalize on the Cardinals’ mistakes. The Titans lost the lead on several occasions and dropped the first set 20-25.
Showing some resilience, junior Kaitlin Seifert stepped into the line-up to provide some solid serving and passing. The Titans battled back to win the second set 25-22 forcing a third set, but Crested Butte succumbed to another bout of confusion as the Cardinals took the final set 9-15 to win the match.
In a fifth match in one-day tournament often the team that can demonstrate the most enthusiasm and energy can often find a way to win. After the loss to McClave, the Titans had five minutes to make some mental adjustments before taking the court against the South Park Burros. The Titans used smart serving by seniors Ali McGuire and Rosie Ewert and some strong net play by Suzanna Dumas and Monika Olesen to take the final match of the day in straight sets, 25-20 and 25-10.
A 3-2 start to the season is an acceptable start and the variety of teams the Titans matched up against on Saturday should help prepare the Titans for the regular season. The Titans will travel to South Park for a tri-match battle with both the South Park Burros and the Cripple Creek Pioneers on Saturday, September 7.
