The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
“We came out of the gate hot, we minimized errors and each player did her job”
by Than Acuff
The Crested Butte Titans volleyball team had a tough battle in their home opener last Wednesday but recovered to win two of three matches on the road Saturday, August 29 and are now 4-2 as they prepare for their next home game on Saturday, September 5 at 12 p.m.
The Titans hosted the Telluride Miners on Wednesday, August 26 and after battling some nerves through the first game losing 25-19, they took the break between sets to regroup and come back out with a plan in place.
“We needed to come out of the gate hot in set one but weren’t able to get into a groove until the end of the set when it was too late,” says head coach Sierra Abbott. “I also think some first home game nerves played into it.”
After trading the first several points of the second game with Telluride with big kills coming from Lillian Voegeli, Mia O’Neil and Grace Williams to be tied 8-8, Crested Butte fired off seven straight points including an ace from Jo Miller and two more kills from Williams.
The Miners managed to score the next two points, but Crested Butte continued to pour it on with blocks from Haley Roberts and a kill by Lanea Clifton to go up 20-10. Telluride did make one last run, but Crested Butte managed the set with a mix of grit and grind to seal the second game 25-17.
“We were able to maintain control of the game,” says Abbott. “We did a much better job of doing our job and not worrying so much about how well Telluride was taking care of their things.”
The third game proved to be a test of wills as neither squad managed to string a rally together and while O’Neil and Williams came up with big kills and the team defense worked hard, the Miners managed to eke out a 25-23 win in the third game.
With their back against the wall, Abbott called on her players to step up and play without fear in the fourth game.
“I asked them one simple question: Do you want to win? They answered a bit timidly, so I said, ‘I am going to ask you again, do you want to win?’ They answered with more energy and fire that we took into the start of the set,” says Abbott. “I made sure that they knew that us coaches believed in them, and that we know what they are capable of, and that this set comes down to if they can believe in themselves too.”
They players took to the court and got down to business to roll to a 25-14 win and force a fifth and final game.
“We came out of the gate hot, we minimized errors, and each player did her job,” says Abbott. “We had a don’t flinch and next ball/point mentality which is when you don’t let a lost rally rattle you, and you move on and focus on the next point. We also kept Telluride out of system.”
The fifth game leaves little room for missteps as the 15-point format can be determined by the slightest of leads and that’s ultimately what transpired. The Miners took a slight two-point lead and while the Titans battled to hold Telluride close, two points became three points in Telluride’s favor, and they eventually closed it out with a six-point run to hand the Titans a loss.
“Telluride had more energy and played smarter volleyball. That is what it came down to,” says Abbott. “We got down a few points, lost our momentum and got into a rut we couldn’t get out of.”
O’Neil led the team with 19 kills, Williams tallied 14 kills and Roberts added in 9. Miller stepped up and delivered 46 assists across the five sets outpacing Telluride’s setters who only delivered 35 assists across five sets. In the end, the match gave the coaches and players things to be proud of and things to work on as they move forward.
“We saw a lot of great things. Our serve receive was on fire. Passers did their job off the serve. We also had a lot of shining moments that really highlighted what we can do,” says Abbott. “We need to improve on our energy and cut down on our hitting errors. We didn’t play smart volleyball in set three and it showed.”
Crested Butte returned to the road on Saturday, August 29 for three matches in Center taking two of three over the day with wins against Dove Creek and Ellicott and a loss to Salida.
