Volleyball recovers from loss with straight set win

League record stands at 5-2

The Southern Peaks League may be one of the toughest leagues in the state, with three teams currently ranked in the top 10 in the state among 2A programs.

And for the first time in Titans volleyball history, at least since moving into the league, Crested Butte is right in the mix.
They hit the road on Friday, September 27 to face the Del Norte Tigers, who are fourth in the state and despite falling in straight sets, the Titans didn’t go down easy.
Del Norte brings a high-powered offense backed by disciplined defense but the Titans were determined to establish themselves as a worthy opponent from the start, engaging Del Norte in several long rallies.
The Titans came out hot and battled back and forth with Del Norte before falling 25-21 in the opening set. Del Norte elevated its game to take the second set 25-17 but the Titans matched their effort for an exciting third set before falling 25-21 to lose the match.
Senior Suzanna Dumas led the team with nine kills, senior Monika Olesen put together 10 blocks and senior Rosie Ewert had a stellar match with nine serving points and 10 defensive digs.
“We limited some mental errors but we could not put together runs or hold off a couple of Del Norte runs when we had the lead,” says coach Marla Covey.
The team returned to the road on Saturday, September 28 to take on league opponent the Sierra Grande Panthers. The Titans proved that while they were just coming off a tough loss to Del Norte, they still had plenty of gas left in the tank for the Panthers.
Crested Butte spread their offense to get a number of different looks for points and came out of several long rallies with the point.
Nevertheless, Sierra Grande refused to fold, pushing the Titans to earn each set win. At one point Sierra Grande was looking to take the momentum over but senior Madeline Pulley came through with a crucial kill and two digs to put the Titans back on top. The Titans edged out a 25-22 win in the first set, returned to take the second set 25-21 and then closed out the match win, winning the third set in a tightly contested 25-23 third set victory.
Senior Miki Olesen led the team with five kills, Dumas had four kills and Monika added three kills to the mix, a testament to the Titans’ variety of attacks.
The Titans are sitting in fourth place in the Southern Peaks League with a record of 5-2 and will host Custer County in mighty Mt. Olympus on Saturday, October 5 for another crucial league showdown. Matches start at noon with C team followed by the JV and then the varsity.