The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Still searching for a potent mix
The Crested Butte Titans volleyball team opened and closed the homecoming week with mixed results.
Hopes and expectations were high as the Titans hosted the Sanford Indians in mighty Mt. Olympus on Tuesday, September 16. Energy at the school was climbing for the homecoming week, as the Titans volleyball match was the opener to a week of intense competition.
The Indians had a hex on Crested Butte for several years but the Titans broke the hex last year, with a first-ever, huge upset win over Sanford.
The Titans looked to do it again on Tuesday, opening the match and winning 25-22. But then they dropped the next three games, as Titan service errors and Sanford’s big hitters spelled the demise of the Crested Butte Titans.
The Titans had three days to regroup before they closed homecoming week, hosting the Antonito Trojans on Saturday, September 20 at Mt. Olympus. Antonio is a former league opponent that dropped to the 1A division in the Southern Peaks League this season.
Even after the activity-filled week of homecoming the Titans started the set with the solid win 25-17. Then the Titan team floundered and came up short in the second set 24-26. While the Titans would put together a small run of points, service errors plagued the Titans all day, with six missed services in the second set and 19 missed serves on the day for a serving percentage of 82 percent (the team strives for a 95 percent serving percentage and usually is in the 90 percent range), a team low this season, making the Antonito match that much harder.
Finally, with the help of six service points in the set from sophomore middle hitter Emilya Ramsey, the Titans took the third set 25-17.
Now the deciding fifth set would force the Titans to forget previous mental mistakes and to focus on winning the match. After a missed first serve in the set, senior captain Brittany Barefield served the Titans to a small 4-2 advantage. The two teams traded off several long rallies and it was obvious neither team was going to quit. Fortunately, the Titans proved the stronger of the two teams when it mattered most, as solid defense by senior Kaitlyn Seifert helped pace the Titans to a 15-11 to take the match three games to two.
The Titans are going to need to commit to a purposeful week of practice as the teams travel to Sanford for a rematch against the Sanford Indians and the league leaders Sargent Farmers on Saturday, September 27.
