Vail Christian girls volleyball sweeps Caprock Academy to open Western Slope league play

Vail Christian opened league play Thursday night at home with a 25-19, 25-11, 25-11 sweep of Caprock Academy. The Saints’ error-free attack and stingy defense stifled the Eagles, who went 18-5 last year.

“We were in system, we passed really well, we played really good defense, which I was happy with,” Vail Christian coach Britney Branson said. “We were super solid all the way around. I was really proud of them.”

Vail Christian junior Mary McClarrinon had 16 kills and just three errors and teammate Stella Hawkins added 11 more from the middle.

“She was a force,” Branson said of Hawkins. “She was all over the net and running different plays; I think it was really hard to track her. She did a good job of being available and getting up and being aggressive in her offense.”

Caprock Academy came out serving aggressively and picked on Vail Christian’s corners to keep the hosts out of system. The Eagles put their players behind the 10-foot line to give the appearance of a back-row attack, which confused the Saints’ block briefly to start. Also, senior setter Zoey Polson kept the visitors close by seemingly digging out every attack.

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“Eventually we were like, let’s attack the corners and angle because she’s keeping all of our balls up,” said Branson, who credited her own setters for turning the tide for good.

“We were producing,” the coach continued. “Obviously, you need a good pass and set to do that, but our setters were running the right plays, they were setting the correct people at the right time and our players were putting balls away.”

Tenley Brasington led the Saints with 23 assists. Michelle Teague topped the team’s passing percentage with a 2.8, while Sam Bates collected nine digs and passed a 2.33. Branson said the team has been consistently reaching its statistical goals throughout its 3-0 start.

“I think that’s helpful to talk about at practice so they understand when we are being successful as a team, within our own position individually, we’re able to be successful,” she said.

The emergence of Teague alongside McClarrinon, who has led the team in kills the last two seasons, has given Vail Christian a formidable outside attack. But Branson said she’s a big fan of getting her middle hitters involved, too, and Hawkins and freshman Ryan Baron have stepped up.

“I think it’s just huge that we have so many weapons and can go to anyone at any moment and feel confident that they’re going to put the ball away,” the coach said.

Vail Christian travels to Golden on Friday night to take in a Colorado School of Mines contest before playing in a four-game tournament on Saturday. They’ll square off against Aspen, DSST: College View and STEM Highlands Ranch in pool play before facing a member from the other side of the bracket at the end of the day. Branson said she’s excited to use the weekend to shuffle some players around and test out a few different tweaks.

“We’re excited just to get reps,” she said. “It’s the beginning of the year. We’re still trying to work on things and work on chemistry and clicking with certain players. So this is a great opportunity to continue working on that.”