(Aislyn Carrillo/CHSAANow.com)
FORT COLLINS — Coming off an emotional match on Monday night against University, Resurrection Christian volleyball coach Caleb Howard was unsure about how his team would perform Tuesday.
“It would have been easy to have a big emotional let down, but they played very well,” Howard said.
Resurrection Christian, ranked No. 1 in Class 2A, swept Liberty Common on their home court in three quick sets with the scores of 21-12, 25-17 and 25-12.
The Cougars (17-1 overall, 11-0 league) are now one step closer to taking the conference title and playing in the 2A state tournament.
Liberty Common (7-9 overall, 5-6 league) went into the match against Resurrection Christian feeling “intimidated” because of the Cougars’ near-perfect record — a record that only improved tonight with the Cougars taking home yet another win.
The Eagles’ nerves seemed to get the best of them during the first set. The Cougars held a consistent lead on them throughout.
“I think we got inside of our heads and we just started to shut down,” said Liberty coach Jessica Jordan. “As soon as we started making one or two mistakes, they stopped playing as team.”
Liberty Common slowly but surely started to improve their play during the second set. They managed to stay within a two-point margin through the first five points scored at the beginning, the Cougars offense and defense took over the remainder of the set until the final point.
At 24-12, the Eagles held the Cougars, going on a five-point run to cut the lead to 24-17. Unfortunately for the Eagles, it was too late. A service error from Liberty Common finished off the set and at this point, the Cougars had two sets under their belt.
Resurrection’s diverse offense is something that they are very grateful for.
“We don’t have one superstar, we have lots of girls who can step up and play well,” said Howard of his talented athletes.
Set three was the most intense set of this match. The Eagles came in strong, fighting to take the set.
The match as tied up at 6 and stayed within a four-point margin up until Resurrection Christian’s defense put up a wall, blocking an attempted spike from the Eagles and upping their score 16-11. Liberty Common was able to score only one more point for the duration of the match.
Cougar Kyra Zuhlke outrageous play terminated the match and the excitement from Resurrection Christian’s team filled the gymnasium.
The Cougars have only one more match left in the regular season. After taking the 2A volleyball state title the past two years in a row, the Cougars have high expectations for themselves going into this year’s tournament.
“I feel like we can possibly take it again this year.” Zuhlke said. “Of we just work our hardest and keep practicing, I feel like we will go really far.”
Howard is very impressed with how his team is playing. He recognizes that this season has been a process for his team but they are “peaking at the right time,” he said — especially with postseason coming up in the next few weeks.