The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Homecoming matches this weekend
By Than Acuff
Make that five in a row.
The Crested Butte Titans volleyball team took down the Mountain Valley Wolves in straight sets on Saturday, September 21 extending their current winning streak to five games and improving to 8-4 on the season.
After spending the first several weeks of the season missing players from their starting lineup and the bench, the team has now returned to full strength for both workouts and matches.
“Practicing and playing with our full capability has been a blessing,” says senior captain Mandala Covey Bleiberg. “The more time you have playing with people the better the chemistry. The court chemistry we are developing has been key to our last string of wins. I am really thrilled to see players finally sync with each other on the court.”
The Titans did take some time to get into their rhythm against Mountain Valley but showed no worse for wear as they started finding the magic as the first game continued to win 25-16.
“In the first game it took us a while to really get into the zone and play together effectively, but that didn’t last for long,” says Covey Bleiberg. “We got out of serve receive quickly and played our own game setting up quick offense, performing well on defense and serving too.”
Crested Butte used the opportunity to continue building on their momentum from the first game. Speed of play picked up and they implemented all the areas of the game that they had been working on, winning the second game 25-15.
“As the game went along, we really started to experiment and hit more effectively, mostly due to the great passing our back row was giving us,” says Covey Bleiberg. “Mylee Clifton and I were able to push the ball to many hitters, giving us a great offense and a chance to really take it to them. It just took us a moment to get into our game and our speed, which we did effectively after a slower first game. It just took us a moment to get into the headspace, but we got into the headspace with enthusiasm and vigor.”
While in past years the Titans may have let the third game go after winning the first two, the team this season has pivoted to finish matches off in form and they did it again winning the third game 25-8 for the straight set match win.
They have two big home matches coming up this week as they face Buena Vista on Thursday, September 26 at 5:15 p.m. and then remain at home to host Telluride at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, September 27 as part of the Titans Homecoming weekend.
“Every day we grow into a better team,” says Covey Bleiberg. “I believe that we will be challenged, but to grow we need to play against teams with quick offenses. I’m thrilled for the challenge of these next games and am super pumped to see how well we handle the pressure.”
“I am pleased with the big things now,” says coach Sheri Covey. “Our skills are significantly stronger, but we need to improve the little things that change the outcome of the game such as communication, being aggressive and smart. This week will tell me all we need to know with tough teams coming our way.”
