The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
“All I wanted for the team was a little redemption, win or lose”
by Than Acuff
It was a tough run for the Crested Butte Titans volleyball team this season, and it came to an abrupt end as they fell to the Sargent Farmers in the first round of the district tournament on Tuesday, October 25.
Coach Heather Perry took over the job as head coach after spending several seasons in the assistant coach spot and looked to bring a new level of intensity and focus to the squad while mixing up their normal routine established over the past several years.
Following the pre-season and the first week of matches, it appeared things were moving in the right direction. The team was determined to battle and Perry saw a shift in attitude and effort that she felt would play out over the course of the season.
Unfortunately, the team lost senior middle Isabel Young to injury for the season. Then, a host of other injuries sprung up and after a series of tough league losses, energy was at an all-time low. Then October break hit and with several players missing, the Titans endured another rough stretch of matches before heading into the post-season.
“It got off to a good start and then injuries started happening,” says coach Perry. “We finally got to that good place where there was intensity and kids were playing well, and then fall break hit and the season was over.”
The Titans had a week of workouts prior to their district matchup with Sargent, and Perry used the time to bring the kids back from October break into the fold and try to get the team tightened up.
“I told the kids who missed the break that they had to take on a more supportive role in the week before districts and they did,” says Perry. “I didn’t want to introduce anything new, just wanted to use the week to work more on our systems that were in place.”
Perry admits that neither she nor the team expected to come out of the Sargent match with a win and move on through district play. Rather, Perry and the team were intent on proving themselves as a worthy opponent to the Farmers. They faced the Farmers a week before with just six players available and Perry and the Titans wanted to show that there’s more to the Crested Butte program than initially witnessed.
“I don’t think any of us had any aspirations of beating them,” says Perry. “All I wanted for the team was a little redemption, win or lose.”
The Titans ended up falling to Sargent in straight sets but their play was much improved, actually garnering some accolades from fans of the Farmers. Emilya Ramsey and Maddie Mollison combined for nine blocks in the match and the team tallied 13 kills total.
“We lost pretty quickly, but we definitely played better,” says Perry. “It was just nice to end the season on a positive note.”
Perry is losing seven players to graduation but has a plan in mind for next season, including creating a schedule that is more conducive to early development and avoiding six matches over the October break.
“I want to give us a longer season and get us going a little sooner,” says Perry. “Maybe get two weeks of excellence—baby steps.”
