Titans volleyball closes season with win

“I’m excited to see what they do in the future for the program”

By Than Acuff

After coming so close to making the post season, the Crested Butte Titans volleyball team dropped a couple of key matches but ended on a high note in their final match with a win at home over the Ouray Trojans on Saturday, November 1.

With junior Mia O’Neil on a limited use protocol and eventually benched last week with an injury, the Titans took their home court against the Trojans down one key player but up in energy and ready to go out with a bang.

Haley Roberts set the tone with a kill for the first point of the match. The two teams then traded points for much of the first game but with Tessa Wirsing, Lilian Voegeli and Maryn Pritchett coming up with big plays when needed, the Titans started to pull away. What was a one-point game soon turned into a seven-point lead for the Titans and then Lanaea Clifton picked the deep corner with her shot to seal the 25-28 opening game win for Crested Butte.

Game two was not so good for Crested Butte as they let the Trojans stay close to eventually win 25-22 but the brief lapse for the Titans was just that, brief.

Hailey Huresky’s tip to open the third game then inspired additional kills from Roberts and Pritchett and Crested Butte was out early 7-3. Ouray did manage to claw its way back into the game, but Crested Butte held them off and then started to rebuild their lead going up 17-10. With the rhythm and confidence back in Crested Butte’s favor, they proceeded to score eight of the last 10 points to pull away for the 25-12 win.

“To bounce back and get that win was big,” says coach Sheri Covey.

Ouray remained in the hunt as they opened the fourth game taking a 6-3 lead. But when freshman Haley Erickson chased a ball wide for a reaching one-arm dig to set up a point for the Titans, the tables immediately turned in Crested Butte’s favor. Crested Butte then tied the game 8-8 and started to gain more momentum to pull ahead 12-9 before Ouray called a timeout.

“She’s been doing that all season and the crowd saw it and recognized it,” says Covey. 

The break did nothing to slow the Titans down as they went on to score five of the next six points after the break to pull ahead 17-10 and then 20-12. Southpaw Clifton stepped to the service line and backed by a dink from Roberts and a kill and block from Pritchett, Crested Butte continued to pull away to win the fourth game 25-15 and take the match.

“It felt great to end on a good note and finish with some insane kills from our seniors,” says O’Neil.

“They kind of got back to their form from earlier in the season which was a relief,” adds Covey.

The Titans finished out the 2025 season with a record of 9-13 but there’s more to the season than just a record. For starters, while O’Neil’s play was limited down the stretch due to her injury, she finished her junior year ranked fourth in the state as a hitter and led the Southern Peaks League, a league with four teams advancing to the post season, in kills, hitting percentage, digs and receptions. As a result, O’Neil was named the league Player of the Year.

“She’s the first junior to win player of the year, it’s a senior prize,” says Covey.

Covey sees that as not only an incredible personal accomplishment, but one that speaks to the Titans program and their place in one of the toughest 2A leagues in the state.

“The league is now seeing us in a different light,” says Covey. “Teams don’t walk in anymore and think they’re just going to kick us. We learned how to fight this year and it’s the beginning of good things.”

While the Titans lose Wirsing, Huresky, Pritchett and Mylee Clifton to graduation, they have five juniors returning and a freshmen class this year that had an impact in their first season with the Titans.

“We were able to play two to three freshmen at a higher level,” says Covey. “I’m excited to see what they do in the future for the program. The whole team took a step up the past two years and I’m excited to see what happens.”