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Summit volleyball looks ahead to home match versus Palisade after road loss at West Grand

The Summit High School volleyball team huddles during its win versus Aspen last week at Summit High in Breckenridge.
Liz Copan / ecopan@summitdaily.com

FRISCO — After a three-sets-to-one loss to West Grand (10-1) Tuesday evening, the Summit High School varsity girls volleyball team (2-3) is looking ahead to putting in a strong week of practice before a Saturday home match versus Palisade (5-4).

The Tigers dropped the first two sets to the Mustangs 25-19 and 28-26 before taking the third set 25-13. The Mustangs then won the game with a 25-15 victory in the deciding fourth set.

Tigers head coach Kelly Schneweis said West Grand challenged Summit with its height advantage and quick offense.



“They were just physical girls,” Schneweis said. “They blocked us a lot and were able to run plays that we were unable to contest.”

Schneweis also credited the Mustangs with their strong serving, which resulted in difficulty passing for the Tigers. Schneweis said the Tigers’ offensive attack also made some unforced errors while serving, which made keeping up with West Grand that much more difficult.



In the Tigers’ strong third set win, Schneweis said Summit was able to jump out to a lead early, with a seven-point cushion at one point, 

When you create that gap, it builds that sense of confidence, and the girls started to play better defense,” Schneweis said. “We were serving the ball in, and we just figured a few things out. We had to get creative with some of our offensive plays just to avoid the matchups of getting blocked so frequently. So we were working plays to get the other side to work harder, and it seemed to pay off.

Looking ahead to Palisade at 1 p.m. Saturday at Summit High, Schneweis said the team will focus in on its defense. Along with the team’s typical work on offense and passing, Schneweis said it will look to improve its play to prevent errors and silly mistakes versus competitive teams.

Summit girls volleyball

Sept. 5: vs. Grand Junction, L, 3-1
Sept. 14: at Rifle, W, 3-2
Sept. 17: vs. Aspen, W, 3-0
Sept. 19: vs. Battle Mountain, L, 3-1
Sept. 24: at West Grand, L, 3-1
Sept. 28: vs. Palisade, 1 p.m.
Oct. 1: vs. Glenwood Springs, L 3-1
Oct. 3: at Steamboat Springs, 6:30 p.m.
Oct. 4-5:
Runner-up at Battle Mountain tournament
Oct. 8: vs. Eagle Valley, L, 3-1
Oct. 10: at Battle Mountain, L, 3-0
Oct. 17: at Glenwood Springs, L, 3-0
Oct. 19: at Palisade, L, 3-0
Oct. 24: vs. Steamboat Springs, L, 3-0
Oct. 26: vs. Rifle, W, 3-1
Oct. 31: at Eagle Valley, 1 p.m.
Nov. 2: at Golden tournament, TBD

“If things aren’t going as well as hoped, you’ve got to find Plan B, which is setting (to our) back row a little bit more,” Schneweis said. “Also, figuring out a system for our out-of-system playing. Every once in a while, we don’t get the best pass, and sometimes we’re not making the best decision during that time on where we need to set or where need to set while out of system. So we have to work on that. Maybe utilizing our back row as more of an offensive tool.”

Reflecting on Tuesday’s game, Schneweis said senior Anna Confer passed and communicated well from the libero role. Confer’s move to libero opened up senior leader Courtney Brown to play some front row and outside hitter for the Tigers. Schneweis also said senior Kyla Hildebrand executed the team’s blocking strategy well, with few errors, on Tuesday.

As for Palisade, the Tigers know what they’re in for.

“They are typically a very strong team, but we are looking forward to the challenge,” Schneweis said. “We continue to get better. Hopefully, we can put on a good show.”


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