The Pagosa Springs High School Lady Pirate volleyball team opened the season by going 1-2 at the Demon Invitational in Glenwood Springs Aug. 22 and 23, with coach Chelsea Caler indicating the team learned a lot at the tournament.
“We learned a lot about ourselves this weekend,” Caler wrote in an email to The SUN. “It was very revealing in terms of both what we’re already doing well and where we have room to grow. That’s exactly what early season play is for to figure out where we’re at, and how we want to shape our identity moving forward. We had a handful of really great moments, we working on finding consistency in that.”
The 3A Lady Pirates opened the season on Friday, Aug. 22, with a 2-0 loss to the 2A Meeker Cowboys, with the Cowboys winning both sets 25-15.
Shortly after that matchup, the Lady Pirates were back on the court, this time against the 3A Roaring Fork Rams.
The Lady Pirates won 2-0 over the Rams to pick up their first win of the season, winning the first set 25-22 and the second 25-15.
The following day, the Lady Pirates faced off against the 4A Steamboat Springs Sailors, with the Sailors taking home the victory in three sets.
The Sailors won the first set 25-20 before the Lady Pirates won a close second set 26-24. Steamboat Springs rebounded in the third set for a 15-5 set win and the overall win.
Stats from the games were not available by press time Wednesday.
“What stood out was our serve receive passing, and defense showed moments of grit,” Caler highlights of the team’s play. “We started to see our blocking work from practice carry over into matches. We also had some amazing kills and aggressive net play by all our hitters. These are all good signs that we’re building the right habits.”
This week, the Lady Pirates will get their first taste of home action as they host the 2A Sanford Mustangs at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 30, before opening league play against Alamosa the following week.
The Mustangs are 1-0 on the season after defeating Gunnison 3-1 on Aug. 23.
“The main focus right now is on us,” Caler wrote. “We want to get our offense into a rhythm, cut down on forced errors and build confidence in making smart, versatile plays. That will set us up well not just for this week, but for the season as a whole. We know both programs traditionally play fast and disciplined volleyball, so our priority is to keep pace by being clean on our side of the net. That means strong first contacts, good tempo and trusting our systems.”
randi@pagosasun.com
>