The Pagosa Springs High School Lady Pirate volleyball team will host its first regular-season home games in the coming days, hosting the Alamosa Mean Moose at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 5, and the Telluride Miners at 3 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 7.
The team last played on Aug. 27, when it swept Dolores in Dolores to give the Lady Pirates a 3-2 record on the season.
Coach Katie Lorenzen indicated the team liked having Labor Day weekend off for the first time in a while (the Glenwood Springs tournament was held a week earlier this season), which allowed the Lady Pirates to enjoy their final weekend of summer and get ready for school.
She added it was nice that the Lady Pirates had the break leading into lots of games and daily practice without much of a break.
She also indicated the routine of school will help the athletes to have dedicated time to focus on volleyball, and added it will be fun to support the girls in their academics.
In addition to being a return to action and the first home game of the season, Thursday’s matchup with the Mean Moose will also open league play for the Lady Pirates.
The Mean Moose are 4-2 on the season.
“Alamosa always runs a really fast offense and has a setter that can put the ball anywhere from anywhere, and hitters that are ready to get on the ball super quickly, so I’d say blocking is the biggest thing that we need to be focused on against Alamosa,” Lorenzen said, adding that it is something the team is working on.
She added the Lady Pirates are working on footwork and pressing over the net instead of just reaching straight up, as well as timing and eye progression.
“And it’s something that we know as coaches is one of the biggest things we need to work on, and so it’s definitely gonna be tested against Alamosa,” the coach said.
On Saturday, the Lady Pirates will welcome the 2A Miners to town, which Lorenzen noted is a new game for Pagosa this year.
“We haven’t played them before, so ... that should be fun to see a new team,” she said.
Lorenzen added the Miners came to the Lady Pirates’ scrimmage day in August.
Lorenzen also highlighted some recent fun the Miners had: The team posted on Instagram tagging actor and musician Selena Gomez, asking her to sing the national anthem for them at a home game, which she then showed up to do.
“That was kinda cool; we’ll probably have to ask them about that,” she added.
The Miners are 1-4 on the season.
“We’ve got a lot of things we can improve on, but we’ve got girls who are willing to do it, so that’s exciting. I think we can get better and better and better throughout the season,” the coach said.
Lorenzen noted there’s been a lot of growth within the Lady Pirates’ program already this season.
“I think there has been a ton of growth in the gym,” Lorenzen said. “And, it’s nice that we went with smaller teams this year and a big reason was so that we could get more reps, that every girl could get more reps and more attention, and I think you can feel it in the gym. It doesn’t feel so crowded and it doesn’t feel like people are just standing around watching, so that’s been a really good thing.”
She added the program also has a “fantastic group of freshmen” who have come in and worked hard, and who are eager to get better, which has “been great.”
“On varsity, I think it’s fun to see about half the team that has never been on varsity before step right in and be vocal and own their positions and having fun and not feeling like they just have to be the quiet younger ones because it’s [the] seniors’ time,” Lorenzen said. “I think it’s all melding really nicely. We’ve got a great group of seniors who are wonderful upperclassmen to the younger girls, and we’ve got younger girls who are hungry and wanting to do things, and so it’s a great mix.”
randi@pagosasun.com
