The College of the Rockies Avalanche men’s volleyball team bounced back from a Friday loss to beat the Columbia Bible College Bearcats 3-2 on Saturday afternoon and split their weekend series.
The Avs lost 3-0 on Friday night. With the split, they are 4-2 on the season.
“CBC was great last night. They were great again. We were obviously better today,” said head coach Cisco Farrero. “I’m just happy we were way tougher. We totally needed to be.”
Farrero said the team’s response was about effort and unity.
“If you are committed to being tougher and really committed to being together as a group, then you can find a way. And our guys totally found a way,” he said. “It wasn’t easy. CBC, they made us earn everything.”
The roster has changed a lot from last season. Farrero said the players get along well but need to push each other harder.
“These guys are really good teammates to each other, so that hasn’t been the issue,” he said. “Chemistry also comes where athletes need to be able to push one another. Everyone is very positive and supportive, but there are times that we need to hold each other maybe a little more accountable for execution.”
He also said the team needs to stop dwelling on mistakes during matches.
“I think our group is very, very introverted, very kind and very supportive, but I think there are times we think about how it’s going, and that’s not the recipe to be super consistent,” he said.
The Avalanche women had a tougher weekend against the Bearcats. They lost 3-1 on Friday night and 3-0 on Saturday, which leaves them 0-6 to start the season.
Head coach Bryan Fraser said the problem is mostly mental rather than technical. He pointed to the team’s ability to keep its focus.
“It’s a little bit tricky because it’s not so much skill related,” Fraser said. “It’s our ability to kind of mentally move on from plays and then also even during rallies just move on to the next task.”
Fraser praised the visitors, especially their libero and how organized they were.
“They just played together really well. And of course they have some really good athletes that can put the ball away,” he said.
Both teams have a week off before an 18-hour bus trip to Vancouver Island. They will play four matches in four days against the Vancouver Island University Mariners and the Camosun Chargers.
Farrero expects both opponents to be strong. He said each team has many returning players, but both are breaking in new setters.
“They’re both physical,” he said. He named Philip Tritle of VIU and Eli Woldren of Camosun as threats.
Fraser said he looks forward to the trip despite how demanding it is.
“Every morning you wake up and you have something to look forward to that day. So yeah, I always enjoy this road trip,” he said. “We’re playing some really quality teams, so it will be a battle, but also a good team bonding opportunity for us.”
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