The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
League record improves to 6-1
The Crested Butte Titans volleyball team began their five-match home stretch with back-to-back matches last weekend. The Titans hosted the Moffat Cowboys at the home opener on Thursday evening. The Titans seemed to suffer from first home game jitters and took some time to find a rhythm.
Senior Sydney Loyed had 16 hit attempts and four kills. Junior Karleigh Dean played another strong game at the net attacking the Cowboy overpasses for seven kills from nine attempts.
Senior setter Hillari Spencer and sophomore setter Sydney Jernigan shared setting duties and had eight and nine assists each. The team served 87 percent on the evening and the Titans won the match in straight sets 25-18, 25-14 and 25-11.
Friday evening the Titans hosted the Centennial Rams from San Luis. The Titans jumped out more aggressively than the previous evening.
Jernigan stepped into solo setting duties after an ankle injury in the Moffat match sidelined Spencer. Junior Shannon Holleran demonstrated her power at the net with nine attempts and four kills and also used her jump serve to score four points and two aces in two sets. Loyed played another consistent match and added five more kills. Senior Kelsey Beltz and Karleigh Dean each added two kills and senior Ali Turner and sophomores Natalie Bowen and Toni Brown each had one kill. The team served 87 percent and Jernigan demonstrated her strong serve and scored 23 points with one ace in three sets. The Titans won the match 25-13, 25-16 and 25-11 improving their overall record to 8-2 and 6-1 in league.
Saturday morning, the Titan junior varsity team traveled to Wasson High School in Colorado Springs for a tournament. The Titans won all five matches, bringing home the first-place trophy from the T-Bird Invitational.
The Titans’ home stand continues Friday, September 25 at 5:30 p.m. when the varsity team hosts the athletic Creede Miners team. Mt Olympus hosts a full day of volleyball matches on Saturday, September 26 as the Titans host Sierra Grande.
The volleyball starts at noon with two middle school matches followed by a junior varsity match at 2 p.m. The varsity match is scheduled to begin after the JV mach at 3:30 p.m. This match should prove a battle since the Titans edged out a tough victory just over a week ago in Sierra Grande. A boisterous, loud hometown crowd could prove a valuable weapon in this critical league match.
