Volleyball struggles on three game stretch

Hosts Del Norte Friday at 5:30 p.m., South Park Saturday at 2 p.m.

By Than Acuff 

It was quite the lineup for the Crested Butte Titans volleyball team this past week with matches against Buena Vista, Monte Vista and Telluride, all on the road.

It all started with a tough match on Tuesday, September 19 against non-league 3A school Buena Vista.

“They’re a solid team like Gunnison in terms of height and strength,” says coach Marla Covey. “You got to play up if you’re ever going to see what you can achieve.”

While the Titans fell to Buena Vista in straight sets 25–16, 25–15, 25–17, the match did provide additional insight into the team and has the coaches turning their attention to another aspect of their game.

“We have the talent, we just can’t put it all together for an entire match,” says Covey. “We’re still playing together as a team, so we’re switching our focus to how to dig in internally. How to shake off a mistake and stay confident. Minimizing the string of errors. Toughen them up and give them confidence.”

It takes more than one talk and a practice to build that though, and while the Titans had a stronger showing against Monte Vista on Thursday, September 21, they still fell 25–17, 25–18, 25–22.

“It’s what we always see from teams in the San Luis Valley, they just don’t quit,” says Covey. “Nothing too flashy, they just keep coming at you.”

Crested Butte wrapped up the three-game road trip in Telluride against the Miners on Friday, September 22. While the Titans had taken down Telluride earlier in the season, the Miners had their full squad and were on a roll winning two matches in a row heading into the showdown with Crested Butte.

“They had some injured players earlier that were back, and it showed,” says Covey. 

Crested Butte fell to the Miners in straight sets as their penchant for inconsistency crept back in.

“We fell apart a little mentally in that one,” says Covey. “We definitely didn’t play our best game, but Telluride is a good team.”

But that was last week, and this is a new week, and the Titans are back at workouts building confidence. They will host league opponent Del Norte as part of Homecoming on Friday, September 29 at 5:30 p.m. in Mt. Olympus. The Titans remain at home on Saturday when they host the South Park Burros at 2 p.m. 

“Both teams are beatable,” says Covey. “I’m hoping we can continue to reduce mental errors and continue to play as a team.”