The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Win two of three over past week
by Than Acuff
During the second week of the season, the Crested Butte Titans racked up a slew of injuries over a frantic three days of contests, leaving coach Erin Goggins and the team scrambling for line-ups. Once the dust settled from the mayhem and injuries were assessed, it turned out the Titans would be missing three players for their matches last week, which still left the coaches and team with some adjustments to make, but they were manageable adjustments.
The Titan players adapted to their new roles and new look when they headed to South Park on Tuesday, September 10 and came home with a straight set match win, gaining strength with each set. After winning the first set 25-20, they upped the pressure on South Park to take the second set 25-15 and then cruised to a 25-5 win in the third set to take the match. While play was solid, Goggins feels one thing in particular led to her squads’ success.
“Our serving helped our game the most,” says Goggins. “It was a nice game to get under their belt.”
The service stats included a 16-point service run by Audrey Griffin, while Sylvie Newman recorded three blocks and Sydney Stoneberg tallied seven kills on the match.
The team then headed to Center for matches against Del Norte and Center on Friday, September 13. With players still missing, the Titans struggled against Del Norte, falling in straight sets to the notoriously tough team.
“We were kind of scrambling and trying different things,” says Goggins. “Not a very pretty game but I think it’s a winnable game in the future.”
The Titans rebounded from the loss later that day to battle through four sets with Center to take the match win. Griffin had a stellar match with eight aces and five kills, Alex Downey added in five aces of her own while Sami Lakowski, Newman and Marlowe Desmarais knocked down five kills apiece.
“It was good to see them take a win in four sets,” says Goggins.
The Titans return to the road on Thursday, September 19 to play Sargent and then host Center on Saturday, September 21, starting at 11 a.m. with the varsity slated to play at 1 p.m.
“We’re still scrambling to find another line-up but the girls have great attitudes,” says Goggins. “We’re almost back to full strength so hopefully this week we get back to some consistency.”
