One look at the collective faces of the Manitou Springs volleyball team would tell a complete story about the season opener against Summit. The Mustangs were full of energy and smiles, all of which were rightfully earned.
The fall 2021 campaign officially kicked off Aug. 24 with Manitou getting a 25-18, 25-12, 25-20 win over the visiting Tigers. After going through a season that was condensed and left little time for practice — and therefore, growth — between matches, it was nice for the Mustangs (1-0 overall) to see a non-league opponent and truly get a feel for how this team will play in the coming months.
“Any coach feels that way,” Manitou coach Crissy Leonhardt said. “Even in a scrimmage, it’s just not the same. An actual game where you get playing time and fans and feel that pressure is way better.”
And the Mustangs didn’t disappoint their home fans in their debut. They jumped out to a fast start and never let up. Ten players saw action, giving Leonhardt a sense of the team’s depth as the season progresses.
But one thing was crystal clear very early in the match: The Mustangs will get the production they get from the experienced players on the floor.
Avah Armour shined with 12 kills on 18 attempts. Lexi Vigil and Ashlyn Thomson showed their knack for getting the ball to the hitters as they combined for 16 assists, all while Lily Glass added six of her own.
For a team playing in its first match of the year, the Mustangs looked very comfortable on the floor.
“Everything (felt comfortable) except for maybe serve receive,” Armour said. “Our offense was on point and defensively, everyone was super scrappy. Especially Ayla (Flett). She was so good on defense.”
Making the move to libero this year, Flett totaled 23 digs in the match, which was crucial in setting up the Manitou offense.
Although the team played well as a whole, Leonhardt was pleasantly surprised at just how much her passers and hitters were in sync.
“Our connection was really good,” she said. “I thought we just gelled a lot better than I thought we were going to.”
The Mustangs now have a week off before their next match, at Pueblo East.
This is a far cry from the spring season when the team had little or no time to rest and make adjustments through practice. This might be the biggest thing that the team and Leonhardt are thankful for as the schedule returned to normal for this year.
“That was our biggest struggle last year with COVID,” Leonhardt said. “It was just back-to-back-to-back-back. There wasn’t a lot of practice time and time to break stuff down.”
Manitou has about three and a half weeks of non-league play before letting back to facing Tri-Peaks teams. The Mustangs will be back home Sept. 2, when they host Dolores Huerta.