The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Look to rebound against Center on Thursday
by Than Acuff
There’s no question the Titans volleyball team has a steep hill to climb each and every season. They play in one of the most competitive 2A leagues in the state and against teams that play the game year-round.
“It’s obvious that they play all year and they have skills right out of the gate,” says coach Heather Perry. “I feel like we don’t catch up until the end and then the season ends.”
The Titans headed to the San Luis Valley last weekend for matches against Sanford and Del Norte, two teams that bring overpowering programs to the floor every year.
The Titans opened the day against the Sanford Indians dropping the match in three sets 15-25, 12-25 and 11-25. Junior Maisy Ramsey led the team with five kills, junior Sophie Hall recorded 16 assists and junior Stella Newman had 14 digs.
“We kind of rallied at times against Sanford,” says Perry.
The Titans then returned to the floor to face the Del Norte Tigers. Crested Butte had a stronger showing the second match of the day, battling with Del Norte in the first game before falling 22-25.
“The first game was pretty good, we were competitive,” says Perry.
The Tigers attack continued though as they took down the Titans 15-25 in the second and third games to seal the match win. Junior Ellia Pannier had four kills in the match and sophomore Maya Chandler tallied 18 digs but the highlight of the day came from sophomore Sydney Stoneberg. Stoneberg had three aces on the day but it was a big solo block that really got the team fired up.
“Del Norte had a big run up and she just shut her down—it was awesome,” says Perry. “We served well, we moved well and we hustled well—it’s just not enough against the stronger teams in our league.”
The Titans volleyball team opens the Homecoming Weekend festivities on Thursday, September 14 when they host the Center Vikings in mighty Mt. Olympus. Matches start at 4 p.m. They remain at home to host Custer County and Sargent on Saturday, September 16.
Perry is looking for the team to get at least one win against Center and then put up a solid effort against both Custer County and Sargent.
