Volleyball battles to big win over Custer County

Placed third in the league

The Titans volleyball team put together a gritty effort on Saturday, October 5 to take down league opponent Custer County in five sets.

The Titans have been on a roll all season long, racking up six wins with just two losses, both at the hands of some of the top programs in the state. So far, it’s been the most successful season to date since they joined the 2A Southern Peaks League, considered one of the toughest leagues in Colorado.
On paper the two teams looked fairly even as they were neck-and-neck in the league standings heading into the match with a drop or gain in the standings on the line.
“It was a big game,” says coach Marla Covey. “If we’d lost we would have dropped to sixth place.”
And the match played out just as it read on paper as they traded off rallies the entire time.
The Titans lost the first set 25-21 but refocused to win the second set. Junior Kaitlin Seifert was called upon by Covey in the second set to ignite the Titans and she responded flawlessly. Seifert rattled off six straight service points, including three aces, to help pace the Titans to a dominating 25-14 win.
“We were sleepy in the first set but Courtney got us off to a good start in the second set and Kaitlin gave us a big lead,” says Covey. “We put it out of reach.”
The Titans returned to the home side of the court for the third set, and struggled once again to fall 25-19.
“We just don’t like that side of the court,” quipped Covey. “Actually, we just had too many mental mistakes.”
The fourth set would prove to be yet another mental test for the Titans team, down 2-1 and one set away from losing the match.
“We needed to suck it up, our backs were against the wall,” says Covey. “They knew that Custer was beatable, they just needed to step it up mentally.”
The Titans did just that as they rallied to take the fourth set 25-18 and force a fifth and final set to determine the match.
While the two teams had traded off wins the entire match, the Titans seized on their momentum from the fourth set, as well as a series of service errors from Custer County, to carry them to a 15-9 win in the fifth set and seal the match win.
Senior Suzanna Dumas led the team with nine kills and eight blocks, followed by senior Monika Olesen with seven kills and six blocks. Junior Courtney Kopf was near flawless from the service line, with 21 service points on the afternoon and senior Rosie Ewert’s defensive work helped keep the Titans rallies alive through all five sets.
The Titans are now sitting in third place with a record of 6-2. The Titans will host Antonito in mighty Mt. Olympus on Friday, October 11. The JV match starts at 3 p.m. with the varsity slated for 4 p.m.
“We’re playing okay but I think we can bring our intensity up higher, which we’ll need for districts,” says Covey.