Titans volleyball season comes to sudden close at Districts

Solid team ethic makes for quality season

by Stan Cola

The Crested Butte Titans volleyball team’s season came to an abrupt halt, falling in the first round of the district tournament last week. The Titans were on a roll heading into the post-season, racking up two wins in the final week of the regular season, but the team had its hands full in the opening round of the post-season, traveling to Westcliffe as the underdog against the third-ranked Custer County Bobcats.

All year this team worked to play as a team and had incredible rallies, and win or lose, most of the time the young Titans played hard and played together as a team. The hope was that the same team ethic might carry them to an opening round upset.

The score of the first set sums up how hard Crested Butte played and the effort the Titans put into trying to upset the Bobcats. Neither team quit and as the tension built with each point, the Titans played hard. They did not buckle or lose an easy point. The opening set would end up going into the 30s before Custer County eventually won 34-32.

“I have coached a game with a score into the late 20s, but I don’t believe in my many years of coaching I have coached a set that went nine points over the normal game point,” says coach Marla Covey. “As coach I was so proud of that team on the court working together.”

After the loss of the first set the team was still pumped and not disappointed because they all felt like they had just played in an epic event. The Titans jumped out to a quick lead in the second set and held on to win 25-19 and tie the match 1-1.

The Titans took the court for the third set with visions of an upset in the making. Unfortunately, the match did not pan out as hoped as the team played a bit down, dropping the third set 25-13. As a testament to their resiliency, Crested Butte fought hard in the fourth set but eventually fell 25-23 to lose the match.

The seniors on this team proved over the course of the season to be quality leaders and great teammates. Seniors Ericka Bremer, Raven Bryson and Madison Lambert were the glue of the team. Each day they showed the younger players how to love the game and love their teammates, and demonstrated daily how hard each team member has to work to be successful.

“I hope their leadership will be remembered in the next few years,” says Covey. “The young players have tons of potential and now they have the example of a being a solid team on and off the court.”