Olathe Volleyball gets first win

OLATHE — The Lady Pirates varsity volleyball squad bounced back from Friday night’s loss to Delta, defeating Cedaredge on Saturday afternoon.

Olathe defeated Cedaredge 25-6, 25-19 and 25-13. Olathe’s head volleyball coach Dan Rosentreter said the win was an improvement over Delta loss on Friday.

“Today, we came back really well,” Rosentreter said. “We just took better care of the ball and had fewer errors overall.”

Last season, the Lady Pirates went 10-4 in its Western Slope 3A division and finished 20-6 overall. Rosentreter said he was feeling good about this year’s team, but that they were basically a new team.

Olathe has only one returning starter in senior Briana Vigil, one of the team’s captains. Rosentreter said the team would look to her for leadership.

“We have a lot of young players on the team,” Rosentreter said. “We’ll look for her mental toughness and experience, because we’re are a fairly inexperienced team.”

Despite lack of experience, the team has plenty to be encouraged by. Rosentreter said the team has some young players who could grow into great assets.

“We have some fairly tall and athletic players,” he said. “They can become dominant hitters if they continue to work.”

Olathe also has a solid defense, which is what the team prides itself on. Rosentreter said the team worked on defense because they didn’t have a lot of size on the team.

“It’s what we focus on because we have to pass well and keep the ball off the floor.”

Defense will help Olathe all through the season, especially during some of its most challenging games. Rosentreter said Roaring Fork, Gunnison and Coal Ridge were all solid programs.

Olathe won two out of four matches last year against Coal Ridge. They went 1-1 against Gunnison and swept Roaring Fork in a three game series, 3-0. Rosentreter said the team would have to be ready for every match of the season.

“We’re going to have to play well against everybody,” Rosentreter said.

And the team isn’t worried about past success. They are focused on what they have to do this year to be successful.

“Our main goal is to finish well so that we qualify for district,” Rosentreter said. “Hopefully, we can move on from there.”

The Lady Pirates play next on Saturday against Bassalt on the road. They are currently 1-1.