Ella Carrol winds up to smack the ball during Manitou’s match against Salida as teammate Ashlyn Thomson watches.
The Manitou Springs volleyball team got a slight taste of how the postseason will feel while hosting its volleyball tournament on Saturday, Oct. 30.
The Mustangs rolled through Salida, getting a 25-9, 25-12 win, before falling to University in three sets in the semifinals. University went on to beat Resurrection Christian to win the tournament.
The loss to the Bulldogs isn’t entirely negative, however, as the Mustangs (19-4 overall) were able to take a set from a Patriot League team that is expected to make noise at next week’s state tournament.
“Playing a team like University, a higher-level team that is fifth in the state, and taking a set off them helped us grow mentally and physically,” Ashlyn Thomson said. “We’ll probably end up playing them again at some point, hopefully at state.”
To get to state, the Mustangs have to survive regionals.
When the regional brackets were released on Monday, Nov. 1, Manitou was placed at No. 14 and will hit the road to Alamosa. The Mustangs will have to beat Strasburg in the second match of the day, then Alamosa, to advance to the Broadmoor World Arena, the site of the state volleyball championships.
The Mustangs finished 11th in the RPI standings, but were ranked lower in the other seeding data, which is why they fell to 14 and do not get to host regionals.
“(It was a little surprising) but I’m not totally disappointed by it,” coach Crissy Leonhardt said. “I’m happy with the matchup.”
And she has a team that she feels is peaking at the right time. Avah Armour wrapped up the regular season with 240 kills and Katy Vance supplemented the attack with 137. Leonhardt has previously praised the team’s service and ball-handling play with Norah Jorstad, Lily Glass and Lexi Vigil at the forefront.
The hope is to get that play to roll over for at least one more week. Ideally, it can roll over two more weeks — if the Mustangs can advance to state.
“(It’s going to take) a lot of heart and a lot of effort,” Thomson said. “We have to go all out and go as hard as we can, no matter what.”
Alamosa will take on Strasburg at 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 6, with Manitou and Strasburg facing off after that match. The day will finish with the Mustangs taking on the Mean Moose, which could be the regional championship match.