The Manitou Springs girls volleyball team is in a good spot to advance to the postseason, but needs to get back to its winning ways.
The Mustangs had another crucial Tri-Peaks match on Oct. 13, this one against Woodland Park, and suffered another loss.
After taking the first set from the Panthers, the match completely flipped and Manitou came up on the losing side of the 20-25, 25-16, 25-22, 25-15 effort.
Needing a win, the Mustangs (11-9 overall, 5-5 Tri-Peaks) hit the road to Florence on Oct. 18 and put together a dominant match, winning in just three sets.
“For whatever reason, whenever we play Florence toward the end of the regular season, it seems to drag the morale down,” coach Crissy Leonhardt said. “I don’t know if it’s the environment or the team. But they play really well, they’re very disciplined.”
But the Mustangs were simply better. Grace Allen led the attack with 10 kills, while Lily Glass led the team with nine digs and 13 assists.
With the regular season ending soon, the Mustangs are trying to get themselves into a position where they can be playing their best volleyball ahead of regionals. Thirty-six teams advance to regionals and, as of Wednesday, Oct. 19, the Mustangs sat at No. 17 in the CHSAA Selection and Seeding Index.
“We’re going to have a really good mindset and confidence,” Leonhardt said. “It’s what we’ve been stressing a lot lately and they’ve responded very well.”
With games against Colorado Springs Christian School, Atlas Prep and University remaining, the team will keep responding to that approach, hopefully, in a way that has them playing sound volleyball at just the right time.